Vintage Black Gab 2 pc Suit James Galanos Custom Made 1957 Sz 4
I believe it is made of a medium wool gab, very finely finished. The top has short 1 piece cap sleeve. The back has a full zipper hidden by the black satin ribbon. This same ribbon is applied in a diagonal on the front, with a bow at each end. It is darted for a great fit. It is lined in black silk.
The skirt is a straight pencil style, with side zip. It is not lined.
This is a rare piece, one you won't find anywhere else.
Measurements:
TOP
Marked Size: none
Measurements:
TOP
Marked Size: none
Bust: 38
Waist: 34.5
Shoulder: 19.5
Sleeve from underarm: 2.5
Sleeve from shoulder: 3.5
Length (shoulder to hem): 18.5
SKIRT
Marked Size: none
Waist: 25
Hips: 37
Length: 26
Here is some interesting info about the designer James Galanos:
Many of the world's most socially prominent women were Galanos customers. "James Galanos designs for wealthy women who go to luncheons and cocktail parties, dine at the finest restaurants and are invited to the best parties," reported The New York Times. "His clothes are rarely seen in business offices. It isn't only because of the five-figure price tags, although they are daunting to all but the highest-paid executives. It's also the glamour quotient of the clothes."[14] Galanos agreed, "I design for a very limited group of people," he told Time magazine in 1985.[15] In the 1980s, he made national headlines as First Lady Nancy Reagan's favorite designer.[16][17] The fact that Mrs. Reagan wore a 14-year-old Galanos gown to her first state dinner at the White House attested to the timelessness and durability not only of his workmanship but more importantly, of his design. This type of occurrence was commonplace among his faithful customers, which included Marilyn Monroe,[18] Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, Grace Kelly, Diana Ross,[5] Betsy Bloomingdale,[19] Rosalind Russell, Marlene Dietrich, Dorothy Lamour,[20] Judy Garland, Loretta Young, Ali McGraw,[21] Ivana Trump,[22] Carolyne Roehm,[23] Kim Basinger, Arianna Huffington[24] and many other notable personalities and film and media stars. In 1982, John Duka, the New York Times columnist, described in his column, Notes on Fashion, a black-tie party in Galanos' honor attended by his A-list fans, "James Galanos, the designer whose clothing is unmatched in quality and price in this country, was in town, and almost immediately the level of social exchange seemed elevated as if by ripple effect. Betsy and Michael Kaiser he is the photographer gave a black-tie buffet dinner for the designer Saturday. Among those at table were Lyn Revson, Gordon Parks, Barbara Walters, Arianna Stassinopoulos, former Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff and his wife, Casey, Freddie and Arlette Brisson, Mary McFadden, Tammy Grimes, Stephen Paley, John Loring, Gloria Vanderbilt, William Macomber, Sybilla Clark, Alex Gregory, Frank and Gloria Schiff and Bob Colacello. Mr. Galanos was the center of attention: Almost every woman in the room was wearing one of his designs."[25]
