1926 Celanese outfit
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1924-1928 An outfit in celanese.
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The back of the outfit
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Detail showing the embroidery on the front
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The outfit with its waistcoat
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Detail showing the pocket on the waistcoat front
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The skirt
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The Celanese label inside the back neck of the top
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The label for Sensola
Description
This consists of three pieces: a top, a skirt and a sleeveless jacket.
It is made of two shades of celanese jersey which is soft and shiny; the top is in apricot and the skirt and jacket are in terracotta..
The top has a V neck with terracotta binding, ¼" wide. Darts running down from the shoulder seams are ¼" wide and 4½" long. There is a ⅞" wide band of the terracotta round the lower edge, and this extends at an angle up to 5¼" above the edge in the front. Flower sprays machine-embroidered in orange, green and brown twisted silk thread are above and below the slanted strip.
The sleeves have self bands, about 2" wide, round the ends.
The top of the skirt is cinnamon cotton sateen, 7½" deep, with ¾" wide elastic, now perished, in a channel round the waist.
There is a 1¾" deep pleat at the centre back, stitched down for 6" from the seam with the sateen.
The jacket has a ¾" wide self band round the front edges and back neck, and ⅜" wide self binding round the armholes. There are three buttons and buttonholes, 2" apart, at the lower front edges, and it is unlined.
The left front has a welted pocket, 2¾" wide and 4" up from the hem.
There are two labels sewn on top of each other inside the back neck of the top: one says Gown Made from Trade Mark 'Celanese' Fabric Made in England 10; the other one says Sensola British Made.
Contemporary illusrations
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Detail from a fashion drawing in Le Petit Echo de la Mode, July 1927
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Advertisement in Country Life, October 1927
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Fashion drawing in Le Petit Echo de la Mode, February 1928
Associated item
This celanese jersey outfit consists of a top and skirt, and is a version of the outfit above in a different colourway.
The top is nutmeg and the skirt is dark chestnut.
The top has a V neck with dark chestnut binding, ¼" wide. Darts running down from the shoulder seams are ¼" wide and 5¾" long. There is a 1" wide band of the dark chestnut round the lower edge in front (⅞" wide round the back), and this extends at an angle up to 4½" above the edge in the front. Flower sprays machine-embroidered in orange, yellow and brown twisted silk thread are above and below the slanted strip.
The sleeves have self bands, about 2" wide, round the ends.
The top of the skirt is chestnut cotton sateen, 6¾" deep, with ¾" wide elastic, now perished, in a channel round the waist.
There is a 2½" deep pleat at the centre back, stitched down for 6" from the seam with the sateen.
The label sewn inside the back neck of the top says: Made from 'Celanese' Fabric Trade mark Made in England 10. There is no maker's label, and the slight differences in measurements might indicate that the outfits came from different makers, but made to the same design.
History
Celanese is a form of cellulose acetate first developed by Swiss brothers Henri and Camille Dreyfus in 1912. They moved to Britain in 1916 and by 1919 they were producing acetate fibres; in 1923 the company name British Celanese Ltd. was adopted.