#7282 $950 Sold
Sequined wool coat, late 1930s
Savvy fashionistas have long known that a well chosen vintage piece will give you a one-of-a-kind garment without the high cost of couture—this is the vintage advantage. The dramatic coat is just such a piece.
Shaped with a gracefully flared skirt, the provocative coat is very "1930s Hollywood" with more than a hint of film noir. In classic vintage garments, there may be one element or detail that embodies the style of the era. The dramatic wide lapels, embellished with sequined stars, perfectly personifies the showy brilliance and memorable charm of the period.
I dimly remember seeing this sensational coat on Holly Huntress, a 1930s movie femme fatale, as she made her entrance into the Club Chimera on a frosty November evening. Her eyes were cobalt blue; her hair was dusky red, like a fire under control but still dangerous. Every guy in the Club was checking her out.
Film noir ("Black film") was the classic low budget Hollywood film genre of the 1930s and 1940s. A disillusioned detective anti-hero was paired with a sexy, cynical female lead. The low-key, black-and-white style was inspired by German Expressionist cinematography. The prototypical stories came out of the hard boiled school of 1930s pulp fiction (Detective Fiction Weekly, Black Mask, Dime Detective.)
The coat is fashioned from burgundy wool/fur tweed and is lined with matching satin. It closes in front with two self-covered buttons. The sleeve caps are shaped to emphasize the width of the shoulders. The style became more exaggerated throughout the 1940s, thanks to Adrian's designer for Joan Crawford.
In the lining side seam, a small label reads "An original Design/Registered by a Member of fashion Originators Guild." That was an association of manufacturers and retailers who dealt only in original creations. The Guild was formed in 1932 to prevent design theft ("knock offs”). It closed down in 1941.
This fab coat will knock them dead in 2012, just as it did in 1936, even if you are not Holly Huntress, waiting for a tall, dark, handsome guy who is no good. She was married to him once and might marry him again. "You can make plenty of mistakes in one lifetime," she told herself.
The condition is excellent. It is clean and ready to wear.
It measures: 42" bust, 36" waist, 48" hip, 15 1/2" sleeve cap to sleeve cap, 24" sleeve length, and 54" from shoulder to hem.
