With this dress we mark a departure from styles of the last century - dresses from about 1910 onward begin to look more "modern," and the form of the woman who wears them is no longer disguised, as it used to be. This dress has long clean lines and boasts magnificent workmanship throughout.

The skirt is in two layers: an under-layer of silk chiffon, and a top layer of silk crepe folded into a single soft, unstructured pleat at the center front. The under-layer ends in a deep 5-inch hem. The overskirt is banded in satin trimmed with silk soutache in a flower and leaf design. This wide satin band comes to an inverted point at the center front of the overskirt, and the width of the satin trim matches the width of the hem on the underskirt.

But it is the bodice of this dress that is a masterwork! The silk sleeves are designed with one-inch, stitched-down horizontal tucks, from shoulder to elbow. A circlet of net lace rings the elbows. The bodice is divided into two parts, upper (yoke) and lower. The yoke of the bodice boasts the same one-inch tucks as the sleeves, but this time the tucks are placed vertically across the front and back of the yoke. Below these small vertical tucks, five deep horizontal pleats of heavy satin fabric run from the bottom edge of the yoke to the waistband, both front and back. Narrower bands of the satin and silk soutache trim separate the yoke from the lower half of the bodice. This same rich trim circles the waist, then forms a V-shaped flange that goes from front to back across the shoulders. The delicate net lace that graces the ends of the sleeves is also used for the inset on the scoop neck bodice, and for the high neck. This gown is a dressmaker's tour-de-force - in design and execution, it is truly elegant.