Caption:
Evening dress. Culture: American. Designer: Herbert Luey (American, Northfield, Massachusetts 1860-1916 Brooklyn). Date: 1912-14.
This dress was most likely worn by Amelia Beard Hollenback (1877-1969), daughter of the prominent financier and philanthropist John Welles Hollenback (1835-1927). In 1874, the Hollenback family settled in the affluent neighborhood of Clinton Hill in Brooklyn, and became devoted clients of Herbert Luey, a Brooklyn-based dressmaker. This dress conveys a sense of spontaneity through the combination of materials and layered effect and exemplifies Luey's draping talent.