This stunning 1950s suit has a long story behind it.

A few months after I was married, I went shopping with my friend Gina from Beauty from Ashes and she took me to a very nice vintage clothing consignment store where I spotted this beautiful suit on the rack. Just for fun, I tried on the jacket and it fit perfectly. I looked like I stepped out of the 1950s.

I sighed over it. The price was pretty decent for a suit with this many lovely details and in such good condition and it was on sale!

But I didn't have that much money to spend, so I regretfully left it behind after we were done admiring it. I gushed about it to my husband about it on the way home, and then forgot about it. Unbeknownst to me, my husband asked Gina to go back and pick it up, which she did, and kept it at her house for him.

Fast forward several months to my birthday, when my husband presented me with the suit, which I recognized instantly. I was flabbergasted and beyond thrilled and so excited. It was the most thoughtful and special gift ever!!!

BUT I was 5 months pregnant by this time and there was no way I could get the jacket shut. 🙂

I had to put it away for a while… Late last fall I was able to fit into the jacket, and tried to get photos of it with a different me-made skirt, but the photos were taken hastily in full sunlight with a blinding white snow background, so they did not turn out well. This was too special of a piece to do a careless photo shoot, so I never shared those photos. 

But finally I rounded up all my accessories and coordinated schedules with my sister to do a proper photo shoot. The suit doesn't fit quite as well as when I originally tried it on, but by this time I'm able to fit into the skirt, though it's very tight. It's a good thing the jacket lapels are so long! 🙂

Just look at that perfect trim 1950s silhouette! *sigh*

I don't think I'll ever actually wear it out and about as a 2 piece, because the skirt is just too snug and short for active real life even if I lose some more weight – but wearing it long enough to pose for pictures worked fine. 

I've never seen a decorated slit like this before. Usually they are kick pleats, not slits, and this one has a random tiny seed bead cluster at one corner. So interesting!

The jacket fits me better and I can pair with other skirts when I want to give it an outing. It's the most beautiful smooth gabardine fabric, and the details are incredible. Look at how the front piece is cut to come down and form the decoration, which also features the shaping darts, all in one piece. I sure would love to get my hands on the pattern for this!

Then the shaped collar mirrors the scalloped details. I added a vintage lace jabot underneath to fill in the neck, but a crossed scarf or round-necked undershirt would work too.

The buttons too are so pretty! I just love how simple and classy this is, and yet how much detail was packed in. People certainly knew how to make beautiful and flattering clothing back then!

It's a great reminder of the high standard when sewing vintage clothes to get them to look era-perfect. But there's just something special about wearing an actual piece and stepping back in time that I rarely feel when I wear one of my own creations.

The color is an interesting lavender-leaning shade of brown. I'm sure it would go well with other colors, but for some reason navy blue seemed to be the right color for accessories. I wonder what the original owner wore it with?

The back has simple princess lines.

I have a very small collection of true vintage clothes. Maybe someday I can afford to expand that collection, but for now I'm just tickled that I own this gorgeous piece of history, thanks to the collaboration of my sweet husband and friend.

If I only own one vintage suit, at least it's a humdinger! 🙂