Zoot Suit Struts to the Top

From Jazz Age suiting to postwar denim, fashion history fetched top bids.

Pinstripped zoot suit, U.S., 1940-1945,
“Belmont Sportswear” label, $15,000.

A rare 1940s men’s streetwear gem reflecting American cultural history was the star lot at Augusta Auctions’ “Brooklyn Museum Textiles, International Quilt Museum & Vintage Store Stock Auction” on June 18.

Collectors were so eager to get the vintage zoot suit that they pushed it to $15,000—three times its high estimate of $5,000. The two-piece wool-blend suit from 1940-1945 features cream and charcoal shadow and pinstripes, and oversized trousers with the characteristic high waist and cuffed flared legs typical of these garments.

Originating in Harlem, New York, in the late 1930s, zoot suits were adapted from the London “drape” suit popularized by the Duke of Windsor, Edward VIII. Young men in African American and Latino-American communities across the United States made more eccentric changes to the silhouette. As zoot suits became popular in the jazz community, the style continued to gain recognition, and they are considered the first uniquely American suits.

Zoot suits are also the first fashion believed to be the cause of civil unrest. According to Smithsonian Magazine, in June 1943, during World War II, white U.S. sailors and soldiers scoured Los Angeles for over a week, beating up allegedly “unpatriotic” Mexican American men, identified by their conspicuously voluminous suits.

The sale featured other new-to-market treasures, including rare textiles, an array of high-quality couture, and ready-to wear vintage store stock staples that offered something for every sartorial enthusiast.

A collection of silk and pina fiber lingerie, 1920-1930s, $1,625.

Vintage Levi jeans are hot collectibles, and there was also a flurry of competitive bidding for a pair of 501s from 1949 with museum provenance that sold for almost six times the high estimate of $800 to land at $4,500.

Levi’s 501 jeans, 1949, button fly, hidden rivets, center set belt loops, coin pocket, double-sided “LEVI’S” red pocket tab,
30 in. waist, 29 in. inseam, $4,500.

America’s classic pair of denim, Levi’s 501s have gone through various style changes since their inception in 1873. The pair offered, which came from the Valentine Museum, has a men’s button fly, hidden rivets, double-sided “LEVI’S” red pocket tab, a coin pocket, and center-set belt loops.

Exceptional silk and gilt embroidered portière, circa 1700,
with a floral and bird motif, 74 in. by 153 in., $3,250.

Collectors were also keen on historic fabric and textile pieces, helping them easily surpass their high estimates. An exceptional silk and gilt portière (a hanging curtain), circa 1700, sold for $3,250 against a high estimate of $1,500. The piece, embroidered in gilt thread and polychrome silk on off-white silk ground, has a floral motif with birds scattered throughout. An Italian altar frontal of alto e basso red silk velvet with gold lucellato on a yellow silk ground, late 15th to early 16th century, sold for $3,125, more than six times its high estimate of $500.

An altar frontal of alto e basso red silk velvet with gold
lucellato on yellow silk ground, Italy,
late 15th to early 16th century, 27 in. by 68 in., $3,125.

Collectors showed some love to a variety of other garments and accessories and other top lots that sold better than expected included an 1820s bobbin and needle lace shawl converted into a veil with train in the 1880s that sold for $1,875 against a high estimate of $600; a five-piece treated cotton trousseau, 1890s, including a chemise, boudoir wrapper, capelet, chambray underskirt, and split drawers, that also brought $1,875, almost four times its high estimate of $500; and a 1980s taupe silk trench coat with sable detailing by French designer Yves Saint Laurent that more than doubled its high estimate of $600 and fetched $1,500.

A bobbin and needle lace shawl repurposed as a veil,
1880s, 90 in. by 86 in., $1,875.

For more results, visit augusta-auction.com.

Prices include a 25 percent buyer’s premium.

Images courtesy of Augusta Auctions.

 

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