Coat
This short coat or jacket is similar in concept to late nineteenth-century dolmans, which were capelike wraps with sleeves. The prototype for James’s design was a cape for his infant son, Charles Jr. It had elliptically cut armholes to help the child orient his arms upward instead of splaying outward. When the designer adapted the style for adults, he replaced the infant’s sleeve pattern with one derived from the connecting elbow joint of a sewer pipe.
Artwork Details
- Title: Coat
- Designer: Charles James (American, born Great Britain, 1906–1978)
- Manufacturer: Textile manufactured by F. Ducharne Silk Company
- Date: 1956
- Culture: American
- Medium: wool
- Credit Line: Purchase, Costume Institute Benefit Fund, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, and Acquisitions Fund, 2013
- Object Number: 2013.410
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.