Callot Soeurs first operated as a lingerie and lace-making business before transitioning to clothing design near the turn of the twentieth century. By the 1910s the Callot sisters were producing cylindrical-wrap dresses from pastel and metallic silks with Eastern-inspired designs that reflected European perceptions of Asian culture. San Francisco’s luxury department stores, such as City of Paris, proudly retailed and promoted Callot Soeurs garments, capitalizing on the equation of imported French fashions with cosmopolitanism. This gown belonged to Ethel Sperry Crocker, one of the most prominent philanthropists in California history.