Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

1960

  • Work on this object began.

1970

  • Work on this object ended.

2021

2023

2025

  • You found it!

Ensemble, Mini-dress and 'Baby Bonnet'

This is a Ensemble. It was designed by Dorothy Wright Liebes and Bonnie Cashin.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Bonnie Cashin Archive as part of A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes.

It is dated ca. 1965. Its medium is woven wool, synthetics, and metallic yarns. It is a part of the Exhibitions department.


This vibrant mini dress or tunic and matching "baby bonnet"–style cap were made from handwoven Liebes fabric for Cashin’s personal use—she wore it over trousers. The simple tailoring has a starkly modern quality that hints at the space imagery pervasive in popular culture at the time it was made.

It is credited Dr. Stephanie Lake / Bonnie Cashin Archive.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition A Dark, A Light, A Bright: The Designs of Dorothy Liebes.

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian’s Terms of Use page.

If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://www-6.collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318808163/ |title=Ensemble, Mini-dress and 'Baby Bonnet' |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=23 May 2025 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>