American vintage white silk suit, by David Hayes, Dress of the Day / Post 430

 

Angela Lansbury wearing a white and black skirt suit. Photo by Trevor Sharot, edited by Angela Lansbury.

This suit consists of four items. 1 Jacket. 2 Skirt. 3 Blouse. 4 Scarf.

The White Jacket, with Black Edged Collar
1 The horizontal label under the back of the collar says Saks Fifth Aveue. A second vertical label on the inner right hand side says David Hayes.
 
The white jacket has a black pinstripe. The collar has a black edging strip. The dame black fabric is used to edge the buttonhole.

The Sleeves
Instead of cuffs, both sleeves have two parallel lines of black fabric. 
The shoulders are padded. Does that date the jacket?

The Pockets
The two semi-circular pockets are curved and edged in black. In the centre of the semi-circle ia an arch, as if the whole pocket is cut from an oval serving dish.
It has one large button.

The jacket is size ten and too small to do up. That does not matter as the blouse is co-ordinated.

The Short White Skirt
2 The white skirt has a black instripe. 
The skirt is tight and short. It has a zip. I am wearing a long black slip underneath. I prefer a long skirt which makes me look taller, more oblong than square.

The Black Blouse
The thin fabric of the blouse is black with a white pinstripe.100% silk. 
The back of the neck has a short zip. At the top of the zip is a small shiny black coolie hat button with a central point, but soft and smooth.
3 The blouse has ballooning sleeves with cuffs so it fits. It is long. Strange to have a skirt so short and a blouse so long. I would like a shorter blouse and a longer skirt.. 

The Skirt
The skirt is white with a black pinstripe. The length is below the knee. 

The skirt has a white lining. The lining is attached in two places above the hem to the skirt above the hem so that the lining does not ride up.

I fantasize about cutting the hem off the blouse and adding it to the skirt. If it had been very cheap I would have done that. But it was expensive. Even second hand on ebay, about 3 pounds, plus five pounds postage. So I don't want to risk spoiling it, with untidy fraying edges and untidy sewing, or fabric not big neough to go all around the skirt.

My husband warned me, "Don't mess about with it!"

4 The Scarf
The scarf is black.  The thin fabric is the same as the blouse.
The disadvantage is that it does not contrast with the blouse. The advantage of the scarf lending in is that even if it is not tied in a perfect bow and firmly anchored, that does not matter. It won't look untidy or askew.

The outfit label says 100% silk and dry clean.  White and dry clean! In theory, the sort of people who buy silk suits can afford to dry clean. Or maybe it is too delicate and colours will run and it will shrink in warm water.

The Slip
The Black Slip is from Marks & Spencer.

If you want to buy a suit or set which makes you look stunning, here are some words to use in your searches
and scarf, collar, dress and jacket, pockets, skirt suit, dressy, set, silk suit, suede, leather, wool, cashmere, lace, embroidered, Chinese, with hood, matching, bolero, under- over- , silk set, three piece, four piece, vintage.  
Brand names include,  Ann Balon, Peter Barron, Lelie Fay, David Hayes, Patra, Anthony Sicari, Jacques Vert, Windsmoor, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s,.etsy, ebay

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