V&A
Black White Worsted Crepe Three-Piece Suit
1970s · 1960s · French
Designer
Coco Chanel
Production
haute couture
Material
worsted crepe
Culture
French
Movement
Hippie / Counterculture
Influences
Chanel suit silhouette · 1920s geometric modernism
A sophisticated three-piece ensemble featuring Chanel's signature boxy jacket with white contrast trim at collar, cuffs, and front edges. The jacket maintains the classic Chanel silhouette with straight lines and no waist suppression. Underneath is a coordinating black dress or skirt that extends to knee length. A narrow black belt defines the waist. The outfit is completed with a black cloche-style hat and two-tone pumps with contrasting toe caps. The worsted crepe fabric appears matte and structured, characteristic of Chanel's preference for comfortable yet refined materials. White piping or braid trim creates graphic contrast against the black base, emphasizing the geometric lines of the construction.
dressstraightround neckknee length
Connected To
Movement·Hippie / CountercultureWorn with·jacket
SHARED10 years · cross-culture · cross-category
Both outfits speak the same sartorial language of 1970s androgyny, but with completely different accents. The British ensemble layers masculine codes—that camel cape draped over broad shoulders, the checked trousers, the deliberately oversized proportions—like armor against convention, while the French three-piece suit whispers its rebellion through clean lines and that subversive length that falls just so between propriety and provocation.
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