Afternoon Dress c. 1937

Curator: Oh, this piece is just begging to be twirled in. I adore it; there’s such a wonderful playful exuberance about it, like a burst of spring on paper. Editor: Indeed! What you’re seeing is a drawing titled "Afternoon Dress," created around 1937. It's rendered in pencil and captures, really, a moment in the ever-evolving world of fashion design. Curator: Pencil gives it such a soft, intimate feel, doesn't it? It's almost like looking over the artist's shoulder, catching a glimpse of their imagination taking shape. The ruffles… each tier a frill of happiness. Does the historian in you see the world moving in those lines? Editor: I do. Think about the social function of fashion then—a world of strict class and gender dynamics where clothing served to emphasize identity. This rendering is not simply about aesthetics, but is part of how those identities were shaped, especially through publications such as *Vogue* or *Harper’s Bazaar.* It projects what womanhood *should* look like. Curator: Should? You know, when I see this, it doesn't feel restrictive at all. Look how free the sketch is. There are two versions of the dress, right? One with color and one a plain rendering. And so much volume to the dress... It feels joyful, not constrained. Editor: Well, that gets to the push and pull of fashion; between conformity and the assertion of self. Though a 'pencil sketch,' it isn't quite capturing raw self-expression. Consider the institutions—design houses, magazines— that commissioned and circulated drawings like this. They dictated taste, setting standards that, however visually exuberant, narrowed the scope of acceptable self-presentation. Curator: But maybe, within those rules, there was still room to play? To feel a little rebellious, a little…unleashed? And okay, granted, this could represent aspiration more than daily wear. A dress dreamt of, perhaps. Editor: Perhaps, yet I like to view the work more like a tool within fashion industry and for elite members of society, who defined modern fashion by commissioning garments based on these kinds of designs. A peek at the machinery behind "making" taste. Curator: I still think there's something lovely and innocent about it, like a dance waiting to happen. But maybe it's a tango of freedom and expectation after all. Editor: Exactly! Now I appreciate the interplay, and how this seemingly light sketch tells of complex currents. Thanks for untwirling it with me.