Thursday, December 22, 2011

Mid 20th Century Coat





From the seller:


DESCRIPTION: Offered is this spectacularly beautiful antique "Victorian Era Paris Fashion Wool Winter Coat"; created out of Juilliard's finest virgin wool by Paris designer Leon Pierret and sold at Davidson's. This fine black wool coat is soft as cashmere, lined in satin backed and insulated with wool, and trimmed in scallops of black silk ribbon all around. The design consists of: overlapping wrap front (to be tied and belted?), raglan sleeves that taper from 12" to 4" (inside widths), a fitted waist attached to a draped very full-skirt in an A-line formation (to fit over the multi-layers that were worn at that time), the top front is roomy with front darts, the back top has a flat fit, no pockets, one small loop (for a button or tie though neither are present), a long/deep shawl collar (serves as a scarf and ear muff when raised). This stunning eye-catching garment will be the envy of everyone that sees you wearing it. Circa 1875-1900.

JUILLIARD HISTORY/PROVENANCE: Augustus D. Juilliard, a wealthy textile merchant in the late 19th and early 20th C., created the Augustus D. Juilliard Company, distributing textiles in wool, silk, and cotton. The Juilliard School of Music is a result of the Juilliard Music Foundation, a named beneficiary in the will of Augustus D. Juilliard. A.D. Juilliard was a Metropolitan Opera Board Member; he actively supported the Met from 1892 until his death and regularly attended its performances. (For more information and a most interesting story about Augustus D. Juilliard visit Juilliard A History, by Andrea Olmstead, at Google books.)

MARKINGS: Fabric Labels - Juilliard 100% Virgin Wool (registered textile mfg. merchant); davidson's Leon Pierret Paris (davidson, shop owner; Leon Pierret, Paris fashion designer).

CONDITION: Very Good Used Condition; one small 1.5" tear at hemline, no moth holes found, one loop for fastening but no buttons or ties (buttons often were removed prior to cleaning during that period). Age appropriate wear shows as well preserved, may need cleaning to freshen up this estate find; slight wear to fabric at edges, primarily cuff edges where fabric may have rubbed against a fur muff, one L-shaped tear to fabric just above hem line on left side (alteration tips - reweave fabric is possible or raise hemline), minimal wear to silk ribbon decor and all is still intact, a few loose threads. Manufacturing characteristics show as nothing unusual. Photographs serve as a visual description to the written condition. If something appears questionable and is not called out verbally, please ask.

DIMENSIONS: Woman's Size 6: 17" across shoulders in back, 23" Sleeves (4" W cuffs), 36" Bust, 28" Waist, 40" Hips, 48" Length, 8.5" Collar. Overall Length - 48" (17" collar to waist, 31" waist to hem edge), Waistline -35" (inside end-to-end when open & laying flat); A-line Back Panel Between Sleeves - 4" - 9" (4 at neckline and tapers out to 9 at waistline); Raglan Sleeves - 6" (from collar to shoulder edge), 23" (from shoulder to cuff edge); Front Panels - Left Side 10" (inside front edge to side seam), Right Side - 11" (inside front edge to side seam); Back Panel - 14" (inside from side-to-side across the back at the waist line); Collar Length in Back - 8.50".


From Me:

I'm hesitant about posting this one since the label and the coat look more New Era to me than it does late Victorian/Early Edwardian. However, I don't want to not post something this odd just because I'm not sure about the date.

I found some lovely vintage ads, including the one below that show that this is very much a 1940's/1950's coat. (Notice the tag in the ad) I have no idea why the seller would provide information claiming it's from about 50 years prior.

4 comments:

  1. Do you mean New Look? It definitely is. The styles of the writing on the labels make it clear. (Is that a copyright (c)?) It's very striking and unusual with the scallops, but the measurements and overall fit, the huge raglan sleeves, the wrap front, and the shawl collar, all scream early 1950s to me.

    But the scallops really are strange. They're nice on the collar, but weird on the skirt of the coat.

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  2. @Nuranar - Lol! Yes! I guess I was typing too fast and forgot the word "look" between New and Era.

    I agree. I was going to post that someone was too obsessed with the little mermaid when they made this coat but I was distracted by all the information the seller provided.

    I did more research, and, yes, late 40's/early 50's. There are a ton of vintage ads from that era up on ebay. I thought it was wrong but I also was willing to give the seller the benefit of the doubt given all the "information" they had...

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  3. Oh! And for fun, they changed the label sometime between 1950 and 1952.
    This being the new label so the coat above is at least prior to 1952!

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  4. Hehe, that's too funny! It's rare to see such an obvious goof. :D

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