dress

Lanvin, Paris

Summary

Shift dress in stiffened black silk (?) gauze with plain round neck and elbow length sleeves; deep cuffs and flounce at hem, all embroidered in bright yellow and white cotton Tenerife work; long centre back zip; large woven label on inner side seam 'La Boutique de Jeanne Lanvin, Paris'. Belonged to Anne Moen Bullitt (1924-2007). Born in Paris but brought up in the States, she married 4 times. At first she bought clothes in New York, mostly from Hattie Carnegie, but her second husband, Nicholas Duke Biddle, who she married in 1947, was vice consul in the American Embassy in Madrid, giving Anne access to Balenciaga couture clothes with the Spanish name 'Eisa' operating in tandem with the Paris house. She later moved to Ireland and bought clothes by Sybil Connelly, Lanvin, YSL and others. Anne Bullitt was tiny, with an 18-20 inch waist, making her clothes virtually unwearable for anyone else.