Outfit of the Day: 1960s Coat

I made a contribution to Small Business Saturday (SBS) this past year, two days after Thanksgiving 2013. I was in North Carolina visiting my father and sister for the holiday. As the family festivities came to a close, I became focused on getting my shopping itch fulfilled by going to a consignment store for SBS. Out in the country with no real Black Friday events popping off, I was excited to actively participate in the next best thing! Tucked away in a town I’d never heard of, my family took me to a spot called Fine Consignments in Edenton, NC. It was packed from front to back with all kinds of consignment goods. I picked up a few things, but none so darling as this vintage 1960’s grey over-coat with a fur mink collar. Shopping the vintage look is still fairly new to me, but when I saw this coat I immediately thought of both of my grandmothers who loved to dress. This coat reminded me of them both.

http://instagram.com/p/jXBtQHKroK/

The high quality and attention to detail in clothing that emerged following WWII is still quite fascinating, and it’s such a pleasure to find an item that is still perfectly in-tact from decades ago. I was drawn in by the quality of this coat, but was not immediately married to the unfitted structure when I first tried it. I am used to a more fitted look, even with outerwear. It was the originality of the look that sold me, the satin lining, fur trimmed collar, over-sized buttons and the bracelet sleeve. I saw my grandmothers in the coat and many other well to do ladies of the 1960’s. I wore the coat for the first time this weekend to a Martin Luther King, Jr. service at church. I figured it was a perfect time to debut it as it was certainly a look that would have been seen during the height of the Civil Rights Era.

It was a cold day. Underneath the coat I wore a brown Max Studio scoop neck knit dress with dark brown opaque tights, brown suede Brian Atwood booties and a pair of Prada inspired sunglasses. I can’t forget the brown vintage leather gloves!