Charles James Stunning Evening Gowns

 

James riffed on his signature Clover Leaf ball gown, designed

 in 1953, by adding unexpected color combinations

 and black lace overlay.

A red silk-velvet, silk-satin, and white cotton-organdy dress by 

Charles James, worn by Babe Paley for a 1950

 Vogue portrait. The overskirt is torqued and wrapped to

 achieve the complicated draping.

The Swan. A 1949 gown first made for the actress Jennifer Jones;

 James's wife, Nancy,

 in a later version, photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1955.

The Butterfly. A 1954 design James created for Austine Hearst, shown 

wearing the dress in 1956.

Home and Garden - A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in. – Greek proverb