Dress #056: 1940s cocktail dress in black and gold Whale This hand-stitched black and gold

This hand-stitched black and gold paper dress is based on a cocktail dress designed by British-born American designer Charles James in 1949

The only thing that makes them sad is that they are endangered

The dress is made from Korean hanji tissue laid over solid hanji

One of the funniest things about old natural history illustrations are the number of animals that were obviously drawn from descriptions

Dress #056: 1940s cocktail dress in black and gold Whale This hand-stitched black and goldThis hand stitched black and gold paper dress is based on a cocktail dress designed by British born American designer Charles James in 1949. It is made from black chiyogami (Japanese) paper that is accented with a pattern of gold twigs. Hand embroidered lines imitate the seams and folds of the dress. It is stitched onto cold pressed 100% cotton paper. The original dress is held by the Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession 2009. 300. 200). Charles