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Red Starfleet uniform worn by Nichelle Nichols as Lt. Uhura on Star Trek

National Museum of African American History and Culture

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Object Details

Designed by
William Ware Theiss, American, 1931 - 1992
Worn by
Nichelle Nichols, American, 1932 - 2022
Description
This red Starfleet uniform was worn by Nichelle Nichols as the character Lt. Uhura on the television show Star Trek. The red mini-dress is made from synthetic velour fabric with gold braid details and a black knit collar. The dress has full-length fitted sleeves, with a band of gold braid sewn around each sleeve approximately three (3) inches above the cuff hem. The dress closes with a metal invisible zipper that begins below the proper left front waist and ends at the proper left top shoulder, running across the front rather than at the side of the bodice. The zipper is left loose for several inches at the bottom before being joined to the fabric at the waist line. The skirt closes by snapping the proper left front with one (1) black metal snap at the proper right front, then with the proper right front skirt fastening on top of the left with one (1) black metal snap at the proper left front near the zipper. The back of the skirt has a slit reaching up to the waist seam. The black knit standing collar is asymmetrical, being deeper at the proper left front. The left side and back portion of the collar is not attached to the neck of the bodice, but is snapped in place around the interior neck with four (4) black metal snaps. A v-shaped patch with gold lame fabric and black embroidery is sewn with the point facing upward at the proper left front chest, with the proper left half of the patch not sewn down. This half of the patch is backed with black Velcro, fastening over the closed zipper.
The dress is not lined and there are no labels in the dress. Two (2) hanger loops are sewn in the interior, one at the center back neck and one at the proper left shoulder, both made from grosgrain ribbon.
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
1966-1967
Object number
2016.126
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Type
dresses
Medium
synthetic velour cloth with metal and Velcro closures
Dimensions
H x W x D (flat): 27 1/2 × 22 × 3/4 in. (69.9 × 55.9 × 1.9 cm)
See more items in
National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
Classification
Clothing-Costume
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Topic
African American
Actors
Clothing and dress
Costume
Costume design
Design
Science
Television
Women
Record ID
nmaahc_2016.126
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd53b27b528-3266-4e90-ab6b-e5976ebd7e24

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