#6629 $1,450 Reserved
Bonwit Teller tape lace jacket, c.1907-1911
When Paul J. Bonwit and Edmund D. Teller joined forces in New York in 1897, they located their exclusive ladies' apparel store on 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue and remained there until 1911, when they moved to Fifth Avenue at 38th Street. The firm became known as Bonwit Teller & Company in 1907—see the label below.
From its inception, Bonwits was known for its high end merchandise. This exceptional tape lace jacket is as elegant today as when first purchased by a wealthy New Yorker 100 years ago.
The jacket is hand assembled from black silk tapes and braided trim. The figure-flattering style is gently fitted in the waist and flared over the hip. The jacket closes at the neckline and bust with concealed hooks and has an open cut-away lower front. The hem dips to a rounded "V" at the center-back.
The use of black for the jacket was a conscious—and inspired—counter-trend fashion statement. At beginning of 20th century, white had reappeared as the dominant color in women's clothing. After 1918, a taste for strong, clashing colors returned because of the Orientalist influence of Paul Poiret.
Black regained its dominance as the color of high fashion in the mid 1920s. Since then, sophisticated black—the nocturnal hue of romance and mystery—has retained its pre-eminence.
The condition is excellent and wearable. The jacket has been relined with black charmeuse.
It measures: 36" bust, 30" waist, 38" hip, 23" sleeve length, and 32" center-back length.
