Monday, June 1, 2009

James Galanos Long Coat

Accession Number: M.79.239.13


Label 1: Galanos, 1967

Label 2: 2 Piece Coat, U.S.A., 1967, Galanos

This is a heavy, sleeveless, floor-length coat, with a matching belt. The outside is a black-and-white woven floral pattern; the inside is fully lined in a similar black fabric. The front closes with five black buttons.

When deconstructed, it was found that the coat contained three large pieces of floral fabric, three large pieces of black fabric, and one small piece of each fabric to form the collar. The belt was left untouched.

A quick trip to U-pick U-save Self Service Auto dismantling in Gardena, CA, yielded the passenger seat from a 1972 Datsun. Following the original seams of the car seat, a sewing pattern was devised using muslin. From this, a floral car seat cover was easily constructed.

The accession number has been embroidered onto a rectangular piece of the black lining fabric, and this has been appliquéd to the front of the cart seat cover.

At the time of this LACMA de-accessioning, several other Galanos outfits that had originally been donated to the museum by Nancy Reagan were also de-accessioned. Those items were gifted to the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA.



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