1940s Lanvin Haute Couture Black Wool and Braid Work Jacket

A rare survivor and early couture blazer jacket designed by the House of Lanvin. It almost certainly straddles the WWII time period or just after, circa mid 1930s - to late 1940s. Lanvin is the oldest French luxury fashion house still in operation today and was founded in Paris in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin. During WWII, Jeanne continued to operate her house, creating special collections for women engaged in war work and regulation uniforms for female armed-service members. After Jeanne Lanvin died in 1946, her daughter Marie-Blanche de Polignac became president of the company and continued to design collections until 1950.

Crafted from a thick black wool, it is cut to a gently tailored silhouette with a lightly nipped-in waist. The stand out detailing on this piece is the beautiful braid along the collar and the double flaps of the pockets. Sat atop strips of inky black velvet ribbon, the black braid criss-crosses, forming figures of eight. This elegant piece is fully lined in cream silk jacquard woven with a pattern which looks like curved pieces of ribbon. It closes at the front with three large black buttons edged with gold-tone paint. Each cuff is detailed with two smaller buttons. The original label is threadbare and reads “Lanvin 15. Faubourg St. Honore Paris”. In the 1920s, Jeanne and the architect and interior designer, Armand-Albert Rateau, opened a pavilion dedicated to the art of living at 15 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. The store carried men's and women's sports clothing as well as homewares originally in the Art Deco taste.

The jacket is in very good vintage condition, bordering on excellent, for a garment approaching 90 years of age. She is very wearable; we noted some minor wear to the enamel on the buttons at the cuffs only. Please check our measurements below carefully as the fabric has no stretch. We estimate a good fit for sizes up to a UK 12 or US 8 and she displays very well as a historical piece of fashion.

MEASUREMENTS

BUST - 40 in. (102 cm)

WAIST - 36 in. (91 cm)

HIP - 40 in. (102 cm)

LENGTH - 25 in. (64 cm)

SHOULDERS - 18 in. (46 cm)