Wednesday, October 01, 2008

1951 Lilli Ann Suit

What's not to love about a Lilli Ann suit? And this one from 1951 is one of the best I've seen. The designer has taken a wool gabardine with a woven stripe at one edge and cut the various pieces of the jacket to showcase the stripes. One sleeve has the stripes across the cap, exactly matching the stripe going across the yoke of the body. The stripe is found on one side of the collar, but not the other. And just so the whole thing looks balanced, a long vertical stripe is appliqued down the opposite side. Genius! This suit sold for $90 in 1951, which equals about $750 today.

Lilli Ann suits are a perennial favorite with vintage fashion afficianados, and this one is available at our website. Here the brown velveteen of the collar is echoed in the sleeve cuffs and velveteen piping edges the slits at the jacket hem. This one is in a larger size, too! Click the picture to see the listing.