1963 Elkhart County Fair Champion, Or Yes, That is a Matching Hat
This suit which came with a matching coat is on display at the local 4-H building at the Elkhart County Fair as part of the clothing construction exhibit. Most of show were items made by young people for this year's fair, but they had some winners from the past on display as well. And this won was the most impressive.
This 1963 suit is a beautiful blue and gray wool with matching, bias- cut shawl that buttons on to either the suit or the coat. In the early 1960s, a suit was still the garment that even young women wore for travel to the city, whether to work or to shop. In fact, a suit was one of the garments sold in juniors as well as misses sizes. And coordinated hats and gloves were part of the look for public occasions.
But a new simplicity had come to suits which explains why it differs from women's suits of the 1950s. The jacket is still fitted to the body, but lacks a collar and pockets. Of course, it was still a challenge to make, especially the outfit required a coat and a matching hat.
Of course, with the decade, a fashion revolution took place and young people no longer wanted to look grown up; grownups did even want to look grown up. Women's suits became even more simplified when they did not simply disappear. Which meant the rich design vocabulary of women's suits from the early 1960s and prior decades vanished from our knowledge. Which is why I bring you this one and hope you will be pondering the possibility of bias-cut scarves in the future.
