Dinner ensemble

Goodall Worsted Company|Wanamaker's

1937 · wool, cotton, silk · Costume Institute

In 1908, Goodall Worsted Co., of Sanford, Maine, purchased the patent for a tropical weight mohair-cotton blend fabric developed by William S. Nutter. Goodall called the fabric Palm Beach cloth and sold it directly to tailors and manufacturers. In 1931 the company began producing suits from that fabric as well, best known of which is the classic, cream-colored summer suit popularly called the Palm Beach suit. This ensemble, with its heather gray dinner jacket and tuxedo-striped pants is also made from Palm Beach cloth.

Artist

Goodall Worsted Company|Wanamaker's

Date

1937

Medium

wool, cotton, silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Robert Riley, 1956