Tuxedo jacket designed by Sy Devore and worn by Nat King Cole in St. Louis Blues: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A tuxedo jacket designed by Sy Devore and worn by Nat King Cole in his role as W.C. Handy in the Paramount Pictures produced 1958 film St. Louis Blues. The navy blue wool tuxedo jacket has knee-length tails and a black satin lapel. Six black plastic buttons, three on each side of the center front opening, are positioned on a diagonal running parallel to the lapels. These buttons are decorative only, the jacket does not close. The jacket has a wide notched lapel covered in black silk satin, with a neck band made of navy wool. There is one exterior inset breast pocket on the proper left front. The sleeves are full-length straight cut, with two decorative black plastic cuff buttons at each cuff. On the back is a black plastic button at the waist above the center seam of each tail. The tails have rounded outside edges with squared interior edge and overlap about one inch at the center back. The center seam of each tail is covered by a pressed edge of the wool, which is stitched down at the top and bottom where the tail is attached at the waist and to the lining.

The jacket is lined in black twilled silk lining, while the sleeves are lined in ivory silk lining. There are two inset pockets on the interior, one at each breast. There is a hanger loop of black lining fabric at the center back of the neck.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: September 30, 1957
• Designed by: Sy Devore, American, died 1966
• Worn by: Nat King Cole, American, 1919 - 1965
• Type: dinner jackets
• Medium: wool and silk with plastic buttons
• Dimensions: H x W x D (Flat): 48 × 24 1/2 × 3 3/4 in. (121.9 × 62.2 × 9.5 cm)
• Place made: Studio City, California, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Blues (Music)
• Topic: Clothing and dress
• Topic: Costume
• Topic: Costume design
• Topic: Design
• Topic: Fashion
• Topic: Film
• Object number: 2012.64.1.1
• 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.