Vintage 1950s New York City Landmarks Novelty Print Cotton Skirt

This fabulous vintage skirt has been in my personal collection for a very long time and it is time for it to travel to a new home - maybe to New York - whose landmarks are featured! The modernist print in a striking palette of deep orange, sky blue, butter yellow and pale mauve with black and white highlights. It is such a dynamic print and it straddles the line between abstract and pictorial that is so emblematic of textile designs of this period. This print has been used for nearly direct modern reproductions by a brands that re-issue prints, but this is an original 1940s/50s textile. The cotton is tightly woven, crisp and lightweight.

The skirt has been evidently homesewn and altered more recently - an a-line silhouette, with some piecing at the hem (to make the round fullness even). The waistband and zipper appear to have been altered and there are darts in the back. The zipper is modern and there is bias tape in the waistband and hook and eye. Hem is machine stitched and the vertical seams are unfinished but use the selvedge so there is no fraying. As you can see in the photos (over a tiered single layer taffeta crinoline) it falls in a flattering drape, and has not bulk at the waist.

A chance to have a very wearable piece of mid-century textile history. Although I have not researched the designer I imagine this would have been produced in the USA by a well-known manufacturer of art textiles.

Measures:
Waist 30 inches
Length 30 inches