Strapless evening gown
White and pink strapless evening gown, in satin. Floor length, with full skirt. Built in bodice, with stays. Made by Gunne Sax, by Jessica McClintock. McClintock began designing for Gunne Sax in 1969, and by 1970, she had taken over the brand. The dresses she created often drew on elements from a romantically-imagined past, including corset bodices and puffed sleeves, as well as fabrics like lace, brocade, and dotted Swiss. Gunne Sax was founded in San Francisco in 1967 (the year of the Summer of Love) by home sewers Elle Bailey and Carol Miller, and its name, recalls the former’s son, was “an adaptation of ‘sexy gunny sack’” (e.g., the rough bags used for potatoes and sack races). In 1987, McClintock renamed Gunne Sax to Jessica McClintock, and she opened dozens of self-named boutiques across the U.S. She also introduced categories including perfumes and accessories.