Exquisite 1933-1935 NRA dress* dress! Done in rich black silk velvet and the TINIEST white seed beads. Beads criss cross along the cut out leg o'mutton sleeves. The sleeves are fitted below the elbow. The beads also are on the edges of the v neckline that has a hook and eye closing. Pointed seam under the bust and long lean bias cut skirt. Wide belt has the most charming art deco rhinestone buckle with rectangle and round rhinestones. Pull over style with no side closures. Unlined.

*NRA stood for the National Recovery Administration and the blue eagle, clutching a gear and lightning bolts, was their symbol. President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed the National Recovery Act, which formed the National Recovery Administration, in 1933 as part of his New Deal plan to lift the American economy out of the Great Depression. Clothing manufacturers following NRA guidelines sewed this tag into garments to show consumers that they were following these new policies. The NRA only lasted for a few years (1933-1935) because the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. Although FDR was unhappy about this ruling, it’s an uncommon blessing because it allows the clothes with this tag to be dated to those specific three years instead of to an entire decade.

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Brand: unknown/NRA
Size on tag: none
Fits like: small/medium
Color: black
Material: silk velvet/beads/rhinestones
Condition: Very Good Vintage: A few tiny rub holes in velvet at the waist where the buckle sits. Not really noticeable unless held up to the light, but the velvet is slightly matted. A couple of tiny seed beads missing. Two rectangle rhinestones missing on the belt buckle. Tiny seam mend under right arm.

✂-----Measurements: (needs to be pulled over shoulders)
Bust (underarm seam) : 39"
Waist: 31"-37" (cut on the bias and stretchy)
Hips: 36"-43" (cut on the bias and stretchy)
Total length: 56"
Shoulders: 15"
Sleeves: 26"