Object: Coat
Designer:
Charles James
(1906 - 1978)
Date: 1936
Medium: Wool tweed
Country: England
Credit Line: Unknown Donor
Object number: 96.5.1
DescriptionBrown and beige plaid wool tweed unlined coat; bias-cut wrap style; slightly flared, with wide, pointed shawl collar variation; novelty corded seam along outer sleeve, forming point at back shoulders and waist
Label Text:Throughout the 1930s, many women regularly wore suits and coats inspired by menswear. One such example is the appropriation of a beefy fabric for this sharply tailored, brown tweed coat by Charles James. James was one of many designers experimenting with draping fabric on the bias, or oblique angle. Having no training as a dressmaker, he was unable to control the fabric’s unwieldy stretch. The interior’s torn lining is evidence of his initial efforts. The coat’s sharp lines and sporty look are not diminished, however, by its technical shortfalls.
In Collection(s)
Exhibitions:
- Elegance in an Age of Crisis: Fashions from the 1930s