The garments created by James Galanos for his ready-to-wear fashion house in Los Angeles rival the best of haute couture. The quality of construction and painstaking attention to detail both inside and out speak to the skill of his workrooms as well as the designer's own perfectionism. From multilayered chiffon skirts--some made with fifty yards of cloth--to distinctive hand beading, such masterful handling of fabric is the essence of the Galanos style. The perfectly matched tartan plaid of this body-hugging evening dress from 1957 was beaded onto fine bias-cut cotton by the Los Angeles firm D. Getson Eastern Embroidery, which executes most of the designer's embroideries. It illustrates the complexity and beauty of Galanos's beaded fabrics, built up in layers with bugle beads and sequins to create the texture that is a distinctive feature of the designer's style. Dilys E. Blum and H. Kristina Haugland, from Best Dressed: Fashion from the Birth of Couture to Today (1997) pp. 54-55.