Description:
Woman's one piece, long sleeved evening coat of vibrant red velvet and a large shawl collar terminating with fur (probably rabbit)-fronted bow at the front, near the hem. This coat, which was worn by Nathalie Clare, the mother of donor, Mrs. Cathleen Clare Esleeck, is an excellent example of the patronage by wealthy women of exclusive stores in the 20th century, which could have been custom made for the wearer, or purchased as a ready-made item. This coat appears to be a wrap style, as no evidence of prior closures are observed. While in the fashionable shorter three-quarter length style for the early 1930s (described by the Sears catalogue in 1933 as "swagger length"), this kind of wrap coat with large collar was typical of the 1920s, though in a longer length at that time. A label inside he coat reads "Moir Grant / Boston." Moir Grant was listed as a gown shop located at 254 Boylston Street in the Boston Registry and Business Directory for 1921.
Label Text:
The streamlined, abstracted shapes of fashionable 1920s styles continued into the early years of the 1930s. this evening coat features the cocoon-like wrapping element of its predecessors, but its shorter length complimented the increasingly long and fitted skirts of the new decade. The mother of the donor purchased the coat at a shop on Boston's fashionable Boylston Street.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1999.11.6 |
