Object: Vest
Date: c. 1950
Medium: Ivory silk with multicolor embroidery
Country: USA
Credit Line: Gift of Sylvia Slifka
Object number: 89.54.2
DescriptionIvory silk vest with floral chain stitch embroidery; round neck; princess with two waist darts either front; tab at front armscye; peplumed front; 12 self covered button center front closing
Label Text:The post-World War II era is often associated with increased consumerism, making this repurposed vest an interesting anomaly. It was cut and tailored from an eighteenth-century man’s waistcoat to suit a woman’s figure. The waistcoat’s fine silk and embroidery would have surpassed the quality of most modern clothing, perhaps explaining the appeal of its reuse.
Exhibitions:
- Eco-Fashion: Going Green
- Fashion Unraveled
- Ravishing: The Rose in Fashion