1980s Geoffrey Beene Herringbone Wool Keyhole Shift Dress MRS Couture

Playful but not puerile, sophisticated but not stuffy herringbone dress by Geoffrey Beene. The dress is composed of soft herringbone woven wool in a beautiful dark sandy brown tone. The knee – length dress has a loose shift silhouette (almost trapeze – like) with long sleeves, and a rather curious collar. The peter pan collar has a short working zipper that leads to a modest keyhole opening just below the collar. Lined in sage green silk. Bonus: has pockets!

Geoffrey Beene began his career in the 1950s, designing under numerous New York houses including Teal Traina, finally opening his own label in 1963. Beene was incredibly conscious of the human body, and was particularly regardful of the figure in motion – as Beene once said“clothing is nothing until it hits the body.” His designs were created to work with the client’s body, encasing it lightly and giving it a more artful structure. Beene’s reinterpretations of dress formality, use of synthetics, and unusual combination of materials (accessories in acrylic and diamonds, for example), set him aside from his contemporaries who focused on the business of fashion, rather than the artistry of fashion.

Clients include: Jacqueline Kennedy, Lynda Bird Johnson, Nancy Reagan, Paloma Picasso, and Gloria Steinem.