Dress
Mary Quant opened the boutique, Bazaar in 1955 in London’s Chelsea district, a center of the growing youthquake movement. The boutique attracted a new generation of consumers disinterested in the ladylike formality and conventions of 1950s fashion and the haute couture. Quant developed a ready-to-wear style for the boutique defined by short, over-the-knee hemlines and bold, graphic color combinations. The designs, inspired by Beatnik culture and the ease and silhouette of children’s play clothes, pioneered the 1960s mod – or modernist – aesthetic. This pieced mini dress in lightweight wool jersey is a trompe l’oeil version of a similar 1965 design composed of a pinafore-like halter dress with a functional buckle at the neckline worn over a shrunken rib knit sweater.
Artwork Details
- Title: Dress
- Designer: Mary Quant (British, London 1936–2023 Surrey)
- Date: ca. 1966
- Culture: British
- Medium: wool, metal
- Credit Line: Purchase, The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation Inc. Gift, 2017
- Object Number: 2017.721
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.