Fortuny Delphos Gown, ca. 1920
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GUEST:
Actually, my wife acquired it. We lived in Massachusetts in the mid-'70s.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And my wife began collecting basically lovely pieces of old clothing.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And we were at a small show, and she got talking to an elderly woman about the fact she loves... And the lady said, "I have something to show you."
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And she said, "Wait here." And she went to her car, and she brought back a book with the name Pavlova on it.
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
And she opened it up, and she said, "I have this dress."
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
And my wife said, "My God, that's gorgeous." And apparently, my wife asked her if she'd like to sell it. And the lady said, "Yes." And my wife very quickly said, "I will buy it from you." And she did.
APPRAISER:
And how much did your wife have to pay for it?
GUEST:
My wife believes that she paid around... A little over $50.
APPRAISER:
Uh-huh.
GUEST:
And two dollars for the book.
APPRAISER:
Oh, my goodness.
GUEST:
Right, I remember that.
APPRAISER:
She bought the book with it.
GUEST:
Yes, she bought the book, as well.
APPRAISER:
Okay. You have a beautiful Fortuny Delphos dress, which is made in Italy by Mariano Fortuny. He developed the process for this pleating, and he made these dresses from 1907 until 1949, when he passed away.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
And no one has been able to duplicate the pleating process. Fortuny signed all of his pieces.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
And this one has, it says... It's a vertical signature on the back center seam in red lettering,
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
where it says, "Fortuny." They're made out of China silk, and you cannot dry-clean them, you can't launder them, because the pleats will disappear. If you go to a dinner party and sit down too long, the pleats are going to flatten out.
GUEST:
Oh.
APPRAISER:
But they're just some of the most exquisite evening gowns ever made for women. They're amazingly sexy for such an early dress.
GUEST:
Oh, yes.
APPRAISER:
Very form-fitting. They have a cord through here to adjust the neckline, and then these cords, decorative cords here, are trimmed with Venetian glass beads, because he was in Venice.
GUEST:
Oh, right.
APPRAISER:
So these are all Venetian glass beads on the cord, on the beginning of the shoulder, the sleeve, at the bottom of the sleeve, which then is laced all the way through the sleeve. You can adjust the fit of the sleeve with these cords inside here.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
They fit a range of sizes, because the fabric does have a good bit of give
GUEST:
Play
APPRAISER:
to it in the pleats.
APPRAISER:
So that you could order them, pick your color, and you'd pick your length. Because they were meant to puddle on the floor, like this.
GUEST:
Right, like that.
APPRAISER:
But if you were as short as I am, you would get a different length than the woman who owned this dress. I mean, one of my favorite things in vintage clothing is a Fortuny gown.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
And I was just thrilled to see you bring it in.
GUEST:
I have never seen it like this.
APPRAISER:
On a form.
GUEST:
On a form. It is truly stunning.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, they're...
GUEST:
And I understand why my wife fell in love with the picture.
APPRAISER:
Yeah. They come in a range of colors. He dyed the silks in a range of colors. The black dress, it's just so classic and so elegant
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
-and so simple.
APPRAISER:
It's as timeless now and as attractive at a party now, you know? And it's a dress that you don't really need to wear a thing underneath. This dress is in really good condition.
GUEST:
I'd imagine, because the pleating is so...
APPRAISER:
No one's been able to duplicate it since he died.
GUEST:
It's amazing.
APPRAISER:
There's not that many to be found. And they're in great demand. The retail price on this would be $15,000 to $18,000 for this dress.
GUEST:
I'm terribly sorry, $15,000 to $18,000?
APPRAISER:
$15,000 to $18,000...Yes, yes.
GUEST:
I am never going to be able to talk to my wife again.
APPRAISER:
(laughs)
GUEST:
Good Lord! What a wonderful, oh! She is going to be absolutely overjoyed. And I'm very happy, too.
APPRAISER:
Yeah, I'm happy, too. It's a lovely thing to have come to the ROADSHOW today.
GUEST:
It's gorgeous, oh!
APPRAISER:
It was wonderful to see.
GUEST:
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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