Description
The label name “Suzy Perette” was not adopted from a real-life person but was the name of an American dress company operating from the 1950s through 1970s. The Suzy Perette company was known for manufacturing and offering American women couture Paris runway looks at non-runway prices. The Suzy Perette company employed designers to travel to Paris to view and study first-hand the couture Parisian garments that had American fashionistas enchanted. These Suzy Perette designers would then seam-by-seam have garments constructed in America that were gorgeous doppelgängers of the Parisian runway fashions. Many of the garments created by Suzy Perette in the 1950s are direct interpretations of Christian Dior’s post-war Parisian haute-couture designs. Suzy Perette’s runway replicas were so well-made and sewn that the attention to detail and level of workmanship displayed through their constructions is remarkable.
This particular Suzy Perette dress is an exemplary specimen of 1950’s high-fashion glamour and represents Suzy Perette design and craftsmanship at its finest. With its couture-quality details and Dior inspired silhouette, this dress is an exceptional 1950’s interpretation of a post-war Christian Dior Parisian runway garment. The sumptuous silk fabric has a black background with cascading blue painterly poppy-shaped flowers. The dress is a stylish and classy traditional pencil wiggle dress silhouette.
What really sets this dress apart from other dresses of the era and allows this garment to transcend into the realm of the superlative is the unique and skillfully constructed bodice. Chic 3/4-length dolman-cut gusseted sleeves and a ravishing plunging neckline framed with a grand large-scale front capelet collar give the bodice of this dress an opulence and magnificence. The wide front collar is attached and sewn in a way so it has a semi-ethereal look of floating atop the front bodice. There is padding within the large front collar allowing it to retain its shape and gracefully lay as intended. As you can see in the close-up of the bodice, the wide collar is beautifully pleated to draw the eye down the alluring v-cut plunge of the neckline and therein create a slimming, flattering fit. The plunging neckline and collar pleating also lead into the bow-accented wide belt creating the illusion that the belt’s bow is tied with fabric from the collar. The wide matching fabric belt with artfully tied bow buckles at the garment’s backside and accentuates the nipped-in hourglass waistline.
The attention to detail does not stop with the bodice! The delicately pleated pencil skirt has a built-in 5.5 inch black tulle underlay petticoat that starts at the waist and closes inside the dress with a hook and eye. This clever tulle underlay allows the pencil skirt to retain its shape while emphasizing the natural, seductive curvature of the hips. The entire dress is lined. The middle back of the pencil skirt has subtle, gusset-like, panels that lead to a conventional 3 inch back slit at the hem. These skillfully placed panels provide superior reinforcement for the silk down the back skirt of the dress and allow for excellent ease of movement for the wearer. It is apparent that much time, thought and expertise went into the design and construction of this garment. A truly special and rare piece of 1950’s fashion history!
Garment Measurements
Waist: 28 inches
Bust: 36 inches
Hips: 38 inches
Total Length: 46 inches
Desert Belle Vintage General Apparel Chart Size
Medium
Condition
This vintage 1950’s Suzy Perette dress is in excellent condition with no holes, repairs, rips or stains. This dress is in such pristine condition that it may perhaps be deadstock without tags. There is no evidence of wear on this dress. The patterned silk fabric has a luxurious sheen and richness. The dress closes with a beautifully working back metal zipper and hook and eye. There is an additional hook and eye inside the dress at the waist which closes the inner tulle described above. The dress comes with its original matching fabric belt. There are a couple minor creases in the belt. Nothing that detracts from wear. The entire dress is lined. This dress has hand-sewn finishing touches such as hand-sewn whipstitching at the hem and underneath the wide capelet collar indicating a conscientious attention to garment construction not seen in contemporary mass-produced clothing. In addition to the Suzy Perette New York designer label, this dress also has an inner union label and order no., style, size and remarks label sewn inside the pencil skirt.
Desert Belle Vintage Size & Condition Guide.
Please email hello@desertbellevintage.com if you have any questions about size, fit, color or condition. We are always happy to help!
How to Order
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OR
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