When in 1883 Mrs Cornelius Vanderbilt, arrayed for a fancy-dress ball as Electric Light, topped off her satin and diamonds with a large incandescent bulb, it subtracted nothing from the elegance of the scheme.
When reviving this movement Lawson first asked on her blog if any dress company would donate ball gowns in exchange for publicity, but this dress has traveled based on the donations and work of individuals, a foundation with which Lawson relishes.