Evening bolero designed by Charles James for Samuel Winston Inc., of mahogany brown silk taffeta with self-fabric jabot detail and black velvet ribbon bow at neck, and tapered sleeves with 5-inch zippers at the inside wrists. 

Bust: 36 in.

Length at center back: 13 in.

Very good condition overall: missing closure at center front bow; staining to label, and pin-sized spots on shoulder.

James remembered as much for his ingenious garments as for his explosive temperament (think the film Phantom Thread). In 1952, he embarked on his only collaboration with the NYC businessman and garment wholesaler Samuel Winston. The brief collab ended in multiple lawsuits in 1954 and 1955, with Winston suing for breach of contract and James alleging that Winston used his designs without credit under Winston's other label, Roxane. This silk bolero comes from that brief collaboration, with the shape possibly based on the bodice closure of James's "Infanta" afternoon dress originally designed in 1946. The bolero is based on the bodice closure of the "Infanta" afternoon dress designed in 1946 (versions were made for Muriel Bultman Francis in 1950 and Jennifer Jones [Mrs. David O. Selznick] in 1951). An identical bolero is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Costume Institute (2013.336a, b, part of an ensemble).