{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O15669"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15669/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2012FP2656/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2012FP2656/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2012FP2656","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2012FP2657","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2012FP2658","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006AF3974","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2010EM5094","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BF2618","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BD4307","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BD4285","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O15669","accessionNumber":"T.88 to B-1974","objectType":"Evening trouser suit and blouse","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Chanel is famous for her suits and chic day wear; perhaps less well known are her glamorous evening ensembles. This sophisticated and striking evening ensemble consists of a short, tailored bolero jacket and loose, straight trousers, both entirely covered with vertical rows of overlapping sequins. It was worn with a delicate lace and chiffon blouse which fastens with pearl buttons.\r\n\r\nIn adopting the trouser suit Chanel anticipated the direction that fashion would take in the 1960s and 1970s towards an androgynous look. However, the masculine lines of this outfit are tempered by the luxurious finish. Chanel said ‘Much seriousness is required to achieve the frivolous.’ \r\n\r\nThe outfit was worn by Diana Vreeland with a black ribbon around her neck into which she tucked a red rose. Diana worked for <i>Harper's Bazaar</i> for 27 years and became associate editor of <i>Vogue</i> magazine in January 1963. She soon became editor-in-chief and remained with <i>Vogue</i> until 1971. Her colleagues admired her originality and commitment to fashion. On leaving <i>Vogue</i>, she became adviser to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.","physicalDescription":"Evening trouser suit of black net applied with black sequins and lined with silk chiffon. Worn with a silk chiffon blouse trimmed with lace and fastened with mother-of-pearl buttons.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Coco Chanel","id":"A2068"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"AAT25190"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"Chanel","id":"A4468"},"association":{"text":"made and retailed by","id":"x37726"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Net applied with sequins and lined with silk chiffon, and silk chiffon trimmed with lace and with mother-of-pearl","categories":[{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Lace","id":"THES48926"},{"text":"Evening wear","id":"THES48999"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2012FP2656","2012FP2657","2012FP2658","2006AF3974","2010EM5094","2006BF2618","2006BD4307","2006BD4285"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES404988"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES404988"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"001","id":"THES404988"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Jacket","id":""}],[{"text":"Trousers","id":""}],[{"text":"Blouse","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"France","id":"x28849"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1937-1938","earliest":"1937-01-01","latest":"1938-12-31"},"association":{"text":"designed","id":"x29338"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Mrs Diana Vreeland","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"1600","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Display footprint"},{"dimension":"Width","value":"550","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Display footprint"},{"dimension":"Depth","value":"450","unit":"","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":"Display footprint"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"This trouser suit was worn by Diana Vreeland.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Evening trouser suit of net applied with sequins and with a silk chiffon blouse trimmed with lace, designed by Coco Chanel, France, 1937-1938","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"<i>Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton</i>. London : H.M.S.O., 1971","id":"AUTH354373"},"details":"50","free":""},{"reference":{"text":"Cullen, Oriole and Karol Burks, Connie. \"Gabrielle Chanel\". London: V&A Publishing, 2023","id":"AUTH397745"},"details":"p 183","free":"Fashion editor Diana Vreeland was a loyal Chanel client. She wore this sequinned trouser suit for entertaining at home in the winter of 1937–8. Reports on the Paris collections noted that it was a season of ‘gorgeous evening styles…with sequins and jewelled embroidery’. The lightest of tulle grounds supports the embroidered sequins of this ensemble so that the unstructured suit with bolero jacket and fl owing pleat-front trousers adheres to Chanel’s diktat of clothes being comfortable while also chic. She provided an intriguing contrast by pairing the hard shiny glamour of the suit with a light ethereal frill-neck blouse. Although the couturière advocated trousers for casual wear and sportswear, this outfit is something of an anomaly as trousers did not feature regularly in her collections until the 1960s. In later life Vreeland wrote fondly of her Chanel clothes from this period."}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Haute couture","id":"THES48861"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[{"text":"Vreeland, Diana","id":"C4328"}],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"[<i>Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto</i> exhibition, September 2023 - March 2024]\n\nTROUSER SUIT\n\r\n‘I loved my clothes from Chanel,’ recalled loyal client Diana Vreeland. The fashion editor wore this sequinned trouser suit for entertaining at home. The lightest of tulle grounds supports the embroidered sequins, adhering to Chanel’s principle that chic clothes should also be comfortable. Although the couturier advocated trousers for casual and sportswear, this is an early suit design with trousers: they did not feature regularly in her collections until the 1960s. \n\n1937–38 \r\nSilk tulle, sequins, chiffon and lace \r\nV&A: T.88&A, B- 1974 \r\nGiven by Mrs Diana Vreeland","date":{"text":"16/09/2023","earliest":"2023-09-16","latest":"2023-09-16"}}],"partNumbers":["T.88-1974","T.88A-1974","T.88B-1974"],"accessionNumberNum":"88","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1974,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Jacket","Trousers","Blouse"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-10-24","recordCreationDate":"1999-12-15","availableToBook":false}}