SMITHSONIAN
Champagne Silk Brocade Floral Evening Jacket
1950s · 1950s · American
Production
ready-to-wear
Material
silk brocade
Culture
American
Movement
New Look / Post-War
Influences
Chinese cheongsam collar · 1950s New Look tailoring
A fitted evening jacket in champagne-colored silk brocade featuring an allover floral damask pattern. The jacket has a high mandarin collar and closes with five fabric-covered buttons down the center front. The sleeves are three-quarter length with fitted cuffs. The brocade displays a raised floral motif woven into the silk, creating subtle tonal variations in the champagne and gold colorway. The tailored construction shows precise seaming and structured shoulders typical of 1950s formal wear. The jacket's length hits at the natural waist, designed to complement the full skirts popular during the Atomic Age era.
jacketregular fithigh neckhip length
Connected To
Worn with·formal dressFunction·formal-evening
SHARED20 years · cross-culture · cross-category
These two pieces speak the same language of mid-century American formality, where every accessory had to match the occasion's gravity. The champagne jacket's stiff brocade and precise button closure demands the same ritualistic dressing as those opera-length gloves with their trio of pearl studs—both garments that require help to put on and patience to take off.
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