Schiaparelli wore this dinner gown to the Eiffel Tower anniversary party with a long matching shortsleeved jacket dipping slightly at the front and a hat trimmed with a tower of ostrich feathers. The gown introduced Schiaparelli’s newest silhouette, which emphasized a molded sylphlike form that was to feature prominently in her August presentation for winter 1939–40. Here, gathers at the side of the dress break its slim, fitted lines. The whimsical fabric by Ducharne, one of Janin and Peltier’s exclusive designs, features a flying swallow carrying a letter closed with sealing wax. Dilys E. Blum, from Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli (2003), p. 204.