Gray suit jacket owned by Melvin Van Peebles: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A gray suit jacket owned by Melvin Van Peebles. The single-breasted jacket is made from two panels of grayish-brown synthetic fabric (possibly polyester) for the front and two panels for the back. There is a notched lapel, and the buttonhole on the proper left lapel is stitched with bright red thread. The jacket closes center front with two plastic imitation tortoise shell buttons. Each full-length sleeve is made from two panels of fabric that are sewn together at the inner and outer arm. Four decorative imitation shell buttons are sewn near each cuff. There is a welt pocket at the proper left chest and two pockets with flaps at the proper left and right waist. Two panels make up the back of the jacket and there’s a self-fabric martingale belt at the lower center back.

Brown polyester fabric lines the interior body of the and the sleeves are lined with cream polyester fabric. There are three interior welted pockets, one at the proper right front chest, one at the proper left front chest and one below. The proper right front chest pocket closes with one round gray plastic button. A gray manufacturer's label with white embroidered text reads [STAFFORD / EXECUTIVE] below the company’s logo featuring a lion and a unicorn bookending a circular seal with the [S] at the center. Sewn over the bottom proper left bottom pocket is a black fabric tag with white embroidered text that reads [PROFESSIONALLY / DRY CLEAN /LOW MOISTURE / STEAM PRESS].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 2000-2010
• Manufactured by: JCPenney, American, founded 1902
• Subject of: Melvin Van Peebles, American, 1932 - 2021
• Type: ensembles (costume)
• Type: blazers
• Type: suits
• Type: jackets
• Type: pantsuits
• Type: pants suits
• Medium: polyester and plastic
• Dimensions: Length (collar to hem): 28 1/2 in. (72.4 cm)
• Dimensions: Width (widest point): 21 3/4 in. (55.2 cm)
• Place made: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Black Enterprise
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Fashion design
• Topic: Film
• Topic: Musicians
• Object number: 2024.60.2.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: No known copyright restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.