Nearly forgotten but glorious art, envisionings and historical oddments from the back corners of the internet
Off to the “Beaux Arts Diamond Ball” held at New York City’s Ritz Carlton hotel in 1940 just before the arrival of World War II though they didn’t know it then. They ran in Vogue Magazine in 1940 with the captioning seen here. Horst B. Horst, photographer.
MRS. ALFRED GWYNNE VANDERBILT is going to the Beaux Arts Diamond Ball, January 26, at the Ritz-Carlton, in this starry-night fantasy of black silk net, with diamonds from Cartier. 1940. Photograph. Horst B. Horst, photographer. Captioning and photograph are both from a 1940 issue of Vogue magazine. Vogue archives collections. via Scott Jennings Stirewalt @scott_stirewalt on Instagram. via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CzPWFY9ps5y/
MISS MARY STEELE, conceded to be one of this season’s prettiest débutantes, will go to the Diamond Ball in this costume inspired by the circus. Her long blond hair is tucked under a sparkling cirdlet waving tulle plumes. A tulle boa foams around her neck. A billowing dress of lame-red silk tlle is spangled with brilliants. The jewels are from Black, Starr and Frost-Gorham.Photograph. Horst B. Horst, photographer. Captioning and photograph are both from a 1940 issue of Vogue magazine. Vogue archives collections. via Scott Jennings Stirewalt @scott_stirewalt on Instagram. via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CzPWFY9ps5y/MISS ALICE GWYNNE ALLEN, slender, green-eyed, left her mother’s California ranch to come to New York this winter to make her début. Her costume for the Beaux Arts Ball was inspired by an old Italian print–a sleek, slender dress of silver lamé, a sparkling silver silk wig over her own blond hair, and-in keeping with this year’s motif-an armful of diamond bracelets from Tiffany. Photograph. Horst B. Horst, photographer. Captioning and photograph are both from a 1940 issue of Vogue magazine. Vogue archives collections. via Scott Jennings Stirewalt @scott_stirewalt on Instagram. via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CzPWFY9ps5y/MISS SYLVIA KISSEL, slight, wheat-haired., is making her début in New York this winter, after a summer acting in summer stock. She is chairman of the Débutante Committee of the Ball, and will wear a confection of pale blue silk net, with diamonds from Black, Starr and Frost-Gorham. Her costume, like the three on the preceding pages, was designed by Karinska, the famous Russian who is now in New York. Photograph. Horst B. Horst, photographer. Captioning and photograph are both from a 1940 issue of Vogue magazine. Vogue archives collections. via Scott Jennings Stirewalt @scott_stirewalt on Instagram. via Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CzPWFY9ps5y/
These photographs are taken from an Instagram post by Scott Jennings Stirewalt @scott_stirewalt who has a lot of great pictures.
The captioning for the article itself reads: “Beaux Arts Diamond Ball” A tradition in New York since 1915, the Beaux Arts Ball this year-with diamonds as its motif- promises to out glitter all its predecessors. Proceeds will go to the Beaux Arts Institute and the American Field Service.
On a voyage to see how much mileage I can get from the creative ability and eye for images that my family thought was useless. On line art curator, fiction writer and now blogger. Historian's daughter. Follow me . . .even I have no idea where I'm going next.
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