#6561 $1,950 Reserved
Deco devoré velvet flapper coat, c.1925
This important Deco coat is a unique find for the serious collector. I have never found another one with such a splendid floral pattern. The straight uncluttered style of the coat is the perfect canvas for brilliant textile art. The design has everything a lover of Deco could want, especially the bold stylized pattern rendered in strong, contrasting colors.
The coat is fashioned from black silk velvet cut to a ground of striped blue, rose, and green silk. It is lined with blue silk velvet with a wide band of black velvet near the hem. There are narrow blue velvet panels on the sides of the coat—see the bottom picture. The collar and cuffs are black velvet; the cuffs are lined with blue velvet. The coat has no closure but is held in place by draping the scarf/collar to the back.
Although velvet was first made from silk in the Middle Ages, the devoré technique was invented in France only about 100 years ago. The process uses a chemical gel to dissolve (devour or "devoré" in French) cellulose plant fiber to leave shadows of silk chiffon amid deep velvet pile. Devoré velvet became all the rage in the 1920s and is just now making a comeback.
This is a coat for an aristocrat of style, who dresses with flair and impeccable taste, the female equivalent of the elegant 19th Century dandy. Like him, she accepts admiration from the cognoscenti but disdains it from the multitude.
Recall how George "Beau" Brummell, the prototypical dandy, rebuffed an unwanted compliment. When a young man praised Brummell's attire at Ascot, Brummell reminded the fellow of first principles, "I cannot be elegant, since you have noticed me."
The condition is excellent and wearable.
It measures: 42" bust, waist, and hip when closed; 23" sleeve length; and 40" from the shoulder to the hem.
