My Name is Barbra Blue Middy Dress by Bill Blass

This iconic Streisand gown recently found a new owner after being lovingly cared for by fan and collector Lou Papalas for many years before he passed. It was first purchased in a 2004 auction for $14,400.00, and resold for $26,000.00 in 2024. ¹

As fans know, this middy gown was worn for act one of My Name Is Barbra (1965). The middy blouse was one of Streisand’s signature looks in the 1960s and this dress brought that familiarity to her T.V. special. Like so many of her other dresses, Streisand designed this one herself and collaborated with designer Bill Blass to have it made. When interviewed about this process Streisand explained, “That’s what’s so great about Bill. He’s not afraid to like my sketches. I can talk to Bill. We did a variation of a thing I made for myself & sang in four years ago. I woke up one night & knew the costume had to be made of chiffon. So it’s all pleated chiffon cut on the bias. It’s so wrong it’s right. It’s almost a take-off on the original dress.” ² In 1982 Bill Blass told reporter Joan Hanauer that Streisand was the most exciting person he had ever designed for. ³

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Middy dresses are also sometimes called sailor dresses. The word middy is derived from the word midshipman. Former naval tailor Peter Thompson is credited for creating the style in the early 1900s.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog, Spring, 1935, 61. Image from Deborah Sweeney via *Ancestry.com*.

The middy look became a standard school uniform for children and was also a trend in early bathing costumes. ⁴ An important part of the original middy top was that it was always made from a lightweight wool or cotton duck fabric. True middy blouses were not supposed to be tucked in; however, during the 1920s middys with waistbands came into fashion (mostly worn as activewear with bloomers). The middy look resurged in popularity over the years, most notably in the 1980s when Laura Ashley brought back the dropped waist middy dress.

A closer look at the details of the dress.
Images ©Julien’s Auctions

Streisand’s iconic blue Bill Blass middy dress is maxi length and features an empire waist, deep v-neckline, long sleeves, and a gathered back. It was made from navy blue silk chiffon and lined with blue wool. The dress’s dramatic collar and cuffs are ivory organza trimmed with blue grosgrain ribbon. A lettuce hem helps to give the dress the buoyancy that translated so well onscreen when Streisand moved. An eye-catching red bow made from grosgrain ribbon ties around the collar and extends down the entirety of the front of the dress. Julien’s Auctions notes that the inside of the collar still has makeup stains.

*Scenes from My Name is Barbra*. *Screencaps by Renée Nicole Gray*

What I love most about this look is how Streisand incorporated it into her performance, lifting the chiffon as she walked and spun to enhance her songs. She infused it with such energy that even today, one can almost imagine it still in motion when seeing it displayed on a mannequin. When talking about her first TV special in her book My Name is Barbra, Streisand explained, “I’m wearing a gown that I designed and Bill Blass made for me…a long, Empire-waisted version of my middy blouse made in navy-blue chiffon, with a white collar and a red bow. I wanted the light chiffon so the dress would move with me and billow out in the back as I ran up and down ramps and stairs and explored the different rooms, with a small group of musicians playing different instruments as I sang different songs” (p 191). ⁵

*Image via IMDB https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243435/mediaviewer/rm1607805184/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk*

Footnotes