After flipping through the pages of the Ladies Home Journal from October of 1945 and McCall’s Magazinefrom September of 1945, I was convinced to have three basic black pieces. Two of which I already had, a basic black dress and a basic black trench coat, but the third I did not . . . A basic black suit. “A black suit has endless possibilities, no limitations.” That is the simple line from Ruth Mary Packard in a brief article in the October 1945 edition of the Ladies Home Journal praising the value of a little black wardrobe.
Packard, I believe, is absolutely correct. A little black suit, plain, no trimmings, well-tailored, has more lives than a cat as it can be dressed up, down, and for all around town. That began my hunt for a little black suit. I scoured ebay but with no luck and then I found etsy (darn you etsy! I spent much too much time and money there on beautiful vintage!) That was when I found this one. It certainly fit the bill. It was smart in the collar – no fuss, had what I thought were nice buttons, a good cut to the skirt and body of the jacket, and the decorative pockets were a nice touch. Not only that, the suit was way below my budget too. How could I say no? So I hit the buy button.
For this look, I paired my own little black suit from The Library Apparel with brown. Although brown is not much an exciting color it is a classic one. A flexible one. It is a color that I have a lot of . . . I chose to sport my furry tilt hat, mink stole, brown strappy pumps (originals by the way), and original snake skin bag. For jewelry, I chose my little copper leaf earrings (it is fall) and an antique cameo brooch.
