2-833-138 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Light grey wool dress designed by Arthur McGee. The body of the dress is cut straight with seams at the center front and center back. It opens at the center front bodice, fastening with eight (8) large pale yellow glass globe buttons over self-fabric loops, with the buttons clumped in pairs. The dress has a folded standing collar that extends at each front side to tie at the center front neck. The ties are tapered, getting wider at the ends. The sleeves are full-length and cut straight. Two (2) patch pockets with rounded bottom corners are sewn one at each front side waist. The bottom seam of the back yoke comes to a point at the center. The dress is not lined and there are no labels. In 1957, Arthur Lee McGee (1933-2019) was the first African American designer hired to run a design studio on Seventh Avenue in the Garment District in New York City.