James riffed on his signature Clover Leaf ball gown, designed
in 1953, by adding unexpected color combinations
and black lace overlay.
Charles James, worn by Babe Paley for a 1950
Vogue portrait. The overskirt is torqued and wrapped to
achieve the complicated draping.
James's wife, Nancy,
in a later version, photographed by Cecil Beaton, 1955.