From the late 1940s, a jaunty Elizabeth Arden trouser ensemble appropriate for weekends in the country will be paired with a dramatic taffeta and velvet dinner suit by Charles James. The exhibition’s theme will be further reinforced in the introductory gallery by a group of Christian Dior garments from the 1950s, a decade during which there were multiple categories of day and evening wear. These clothes will be displayed in a traditional fashion show sequence, beginning with daywear and ending with formal evening attire.

Christian Dior accessories will highlight the importance in the 1950s of a “complete look.” Following that introduction, the chronologically organized exhibition will begin with the eighteenth century, when clothing was classified by its degree of formality and worn according to the occasion or activity, such as attire for an evening in a formal drawing room versus the less formal setting of a country house. The full spectrum of this hierarchy will be illustrated by Galerie des Modes fashion plates (1778-1787) and represented by a robe à l’anglaise, which was worn in more relaxed social settings.

As the exhibition progresses from the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, day and evening clothes will be juxtaposed in pairs or small groups, illustrating what made each piece appropriate for a particular time of day. In addition to the changes in silhouette, these groupings will allow the viewer to see when the rules were at their most extreme or so subtle as to be barely perceptible.

Since the early nineteenth century, women’s clothing has primarily been divided into daywear and eveningwear, categories that are governed by specific dress codes. Early examples in Night & Day will include a white cotton day dress from circa 1815 paired with a silk evening gown from circa 1824. One of the distinguishing features of 1850s fashion was a full skirt. Dresses were divided into two pieces, a bodice and a skirt, and it became common practice to have alternative day and evening bodices that could be paired with the same skirt. This will be demonstrated by a chiné taffeta dress with two bodices, circa 1853.

The rules of dress reached their apex during the period from the turn of the twentieth century until World War I, when fashionable women were required to change their clothes up to six times per day, depending on their social obligations. A trio of dresses from the 1910s will show the still strict division between dressing for day and night. Examples will include a 1917 Callot Soeurs afternoon dress, a circa 1918 yellow silk tea gown, and a circa 1919 dramatic, black beaded evening dress from Bonwit Teller.

After World War I, fashion permitted a more relaxed set of guidelines. The buoyancy of 1920s nightlife will be represented by a champagne silk cocktail dress and a circa 1924 metallic lace evening dress by Jean Patou, both displayed against an Art Deco textile with a bubble pattern.

Accessories will include a pair of embroidered, pink satin shoes by Pinet, circa 1924. A 1930s clutch handbag equipped with a working watch highlights the sleek functionality of daytime accessories. A dramatic pairing from 1939 contrasts the sharp tailoring of a Schiaparelli day suit with the grand sweep of a Lanvin evening gown. Some of fashion’s traditional dress codes temporarily collapsed during World War II, partially due to wartime restrictions, but also because women had fewer opportunities for social and leisure activities. However, the war affected fashion differently in France and the United States. This is most noticeable in the stark contrast between an unadorned linen day dress, circa 1945, by the French couturier Robert Piguet, and a circa 1943 evening gown with dramatic beaded embellishment by the American designer Adrian.

Fashions of the 1950s again demanded a strict set of rules corresponding to a renewal of formal society. Day suits, afternoon and dinner dresses, as well as formal evening gowns, once again became essential elements of a fashionable woman’s wardrobe. These revived dress codes will be represented by pieces including Jacques Fath daywear, a Chanel suit, and a Jean Dessès evening dress. The strictly delineated rules would all but disappear in the 1960s and 1970s. The mix during this period of high and low is evident in the juxtaposition of a Betsey Johnson vinyl evening dress with a Balenciaga wool evening ensemble. Metallic gold gladiator evening sandals further demonstrate the decade’s departure from tradition.

A circa 1970 Jean Muir dress of sheer fabric trimmed in suede could be worn any time of day, while a circa 1971 Paco Rabanne evening dress features unconventional materials and a daring silhouette. Day and evening clothes were well defined in the1980s, even while undercurrents of the avant-garde and post-modernism led to a multiplicity of styles. Thierry Mugler’s strong-shouldered day suits and Christian Lacroix’s historicizing evening dresses helped define the decade. The draped knits of avant-garde Japanese fashion, however, looked forward to the deconstructed silhouette of the 1990s, when standard dress codes were not embraced, as demonstrated by a Helmut Lang dress from 1993.

True day suits, cocktail dresses, and evening gowns still exist, but contemporary fashion adheres to very few traditional rules and promotes loose definitions of daywear and eveningwear. Although a 2004 Rochas evening dress will illustrate the continuing legacy of fashion’s most stringent etiquette, the coat of a 2008 Calvin Klein ensemble, embellished with crystal paillettes, will again challenge our perception of what is appropriate for night and day. Night & Day, presented in the Fashion and Textile History Gallery, is organized by Molly Sorkin, along with Colleen Hill, Harumi Hotta, Lynn Weidner, and Tiffany Webber. The exhibition will be on view from December 3, 2009, through May 11, 2010.

The Fashion and Textile History Gallery presents biannual exhibitions examining aspects of the past 250 years of fashion. Exhibitions are curated exclusively from The Museum at FIT’s extensive collection. Support for this exhibition has been provided by the Couture Council. A FASHION MUSEUM The Museum at FIT is the only museum in New York City dedicated solely to the art of fashion. Best known for its innovative and award-winning exhibitions, which have been described by Roberta Smith in The New York Times as “ravishing,” the museum has a collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories dating from the eighteenth century to the present.

Like other fashion museums, such as the Musée de la Mode, the Mode Museum and the Museo de la Moda, The Museum at FIT collects, conserves, documents, exhibits, and interprets fashion. The museum’s mission is to advance knowledge of fashion through exhibitions, publications, and public programs.

Visit www.fitnyc.edu/museum . The museum is part of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT), a college of art and design, business and technology educating more than 10,000 students annually. FIT, a college of the State University of New York (SUNY), offers 44 majors leading to the AAS, BFA, BS, MA, and MPS degrees. Visit www.fitnyc.edu . The Couture Council is a membership group of fashion enthusiasts that helps support the exhibitions and programs of The Museum at FIT. The Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion is given to a selected designer at a benefit luncheon every September. For information on the Couture Council, call 212 217.4532 or e-mail couturecouncil@fitnyc.edu . MUSEUM HOURS Tuesday – Friday – noon-8:00 pm Saturday – 10:00 am-5:00 pm Closed Sunday, Monday, and legal holidays Admission is free.

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