Yellow cocktail dress designed by Don Loper and worn by Ella Fitzgerald

Don Loper, American, 1906 - 1972 · 1950s

This yellow and orange cocktail dress was designed by Don Loper and worn by Ella Fitzgerald. The bodice of the dress is fitted with a sweetheart neckline and spaghetti straps. It is made from a yellow, white, and silver metallic woven floral design. The bodice ends at the hip with a knee-length circle skirt below it. The skirt is made from two (2) layers of marigold colored silk chiffon with an underskirt made from a chartreuse synthetic fabric. The dress closes at the center back with a metal zipper that extends from the top of the bodice to below the hip, with top layer of the chiffon skirt slit and finished with a rolled hem, but not attached to the zipper. There is one (1) metal hook at the top of the zipper that attaches around a yellow thread loop and one (1) hook and thread loop closure at the bottom of the bodice.