I'd love to hear your thoughts about these two skirt suits I have. One I found at a mid-century specific vintage shop last week, but given how it was priced much much lower than much of the true vintage there, I don't think the sellers knew quite what it was, and this is the only label in it: I know that "Young Chicago" was Marshall Field's juniors type brand, but it was active for many decades. This suit is heavy velvet, by the way, if that helps at all will era-matching. It's also got the name of a woman sewn into the side of the skirt, and I found her wedding announcement from the early 50s after which she changed her surname, so I'm assuming it predates that! The braid on the jacket immediately reminded me of another skirt suit I have, one my mother-in-law bought for me at a thrift store where she used to volunteer: This one is also a total mystery to me as the label doesn't tell me much, and neither does simply googling "Bernard Paris" Any thoughts? Thanks!
Those both look wonderful on you. It would be good if you could show us a photo of that velvet one with you standing up in it to get a better idea. I am seeing more 50s but wondering if it might be a cusper dating to 1949. The 2nd one looks 50s to me.
Thank you! The lighting in my bathroom isn't great, alas, but the sun's gone down so it's the best I've got:
I would still go with the 1950s. If the jacket had more of a peplum to it, I would have seen more of the "new look" to it. Perhaps others here will have some more dating info for you. You will surely be complimented when wearing this suit!
Thank you both! I haven't worn the brown suit together yet (though I wear the skirt half a lot). I can totally see myself wearing the velvet one this winter - it's so warm and fits like a dream! :D
I bet they were part of her trousseau, which is why they have her maiden name on the tag. Is there a date on the tag? I could see these being 1952-53 at the latest, and they both look contemporary. I assume she was married in the autumn or winter?
I think chances are quite slim that both come from the same woman, alas, but wouldn't that be the best coincidence? No name in the brown one, found by my mother-in-law at a suburban Chicago thrift store in early 2017. I found the black one last week in Wyoming, although yes it does come from Chicago and the name traces to a different Chicago suburb! The wedding announcement I think is hers (her last name before she changed it was a very rare one, so I'm quite confident I've tracked her down) is dated late June 1952. I wonder if she bought the suit the winter prior?
Just wanted to share this image I found online while looking for something else because it reminded me of your gorgeous black suit so much, it seems to be wool rather than velvet but the styling (at least from the back) is very similar, stunning! It's apparently Christian Dior 1947
Oh, what a lovely image, GemGem! Reminds me a little of a screenshot I took while watching Amazon's The Collection, attached below. I wore the black velvet suit to church this morning because we had our first real snow of the season and I wanted to be warm and cozy despite the cold. The extra-lovely part about wearing this was all the conversations I had with women in their 70s chatting about the outfit and their memories of what their mothers and aunts wore. A couple of them were from Chicago too and had such fond memories of Marshall Field's, and then we got to talking about other department stores from that era ... one of the ladies even hugged me after I told her about how I found this last week. I love how vintage clothing is both its own story and potentially the source for all kinds of other stories <3