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Elements of American Fashion

If there were a single word to describe American fashion, it would be "functional." Despite the

fact that seminal American designers have used embroidery and made sculpturally dramatic

gowns, the designs most commonly identified as "American" are those with long, lean, and

all-but-unadorned silhouettes.

 

 

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Examples include Mainbocher’s two-piece black silk evening

ensemble, trimmed with a punch of coral banding and made for

the Duchess of Windsor in 1941, and Halston’s floor-length

cashmere coat and dress dating to the 1970s. The long, fluid

lines of these garments exemplified the idealized body of the

American woman.

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