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26) Jacket from Josef A. Borg, the tailor who worked on the menswear for Sunset Boulevard...
....and went on to be THE tailor for the Ivy set of Princeton!
Size c. 42
All hand-tailored, and cut from Zegna cloth.
....and went on to be THE tailor for the Ivy set of Princeton!
Size c. 42
All hand-tailored, and cut from Zegna cloth.
Josef A. Borg was born in Malta, and before the Second World War ran a very successful business tailoring uniforms for the officers of the British Royal Navy. After the war he emigrated to the United States, where his tailoring skills took him to Hollywood to work under the great costume Edith Head, winner of no less than EIGHT Academy Awards for her costumes.
Edith specialized in costuming female leads, but also designed the clothes worn by William Holden. (Interesting, the other male lead, Erich von Stroheim, wore his own clothes.) Naturally, as a designer she didn't make the clothes herself--and hired Josef to work on those worn by the male stars. Thus, while Edith was designing the costumes for Gloria Swanson in *Sunset Boulevard* (based on 1940s Dior designs) Josef was working on cutting, and sewing those for William Holden.
But Josef didn't just want to dress film stars--and he missed running his own tailoring business. So, despite the success of *Sunset Boulevard* he moved from California to the East Coast, attracted to a new style of tailoring that was taking off there--the Anglophilia "Ivy League" look, pioneered by the Princeton tailor Norman Hilton and the retail tailor's Langrock.
As a former tailor to the Royal Navy and the tailor to the classic American film *Sunset Boulevard* the combination of these looks into "The Natural Shoulder Ivy League Style" was a natural for Josef, and he settled into tailoring on Palmer Square in Princeton. Although he didn't only tailor Ivy Style clothing, Borg's work was always utterly classic--and absolutely first rate. (Unlike many tailors, Borg did all of his work himself--by hand.) A piece by Borg was something to be cherished--and something that was exceptionally rare, since his work was all his own.
I'm thus delighted to offer this beautiful jacket by Josef A. Borg of Princeton--hand-tailored by Josef himself.
Tailored in 2006, this was one of the very last jackets that Josef made prior to his death in 2011. Beautifully cut from Zegna cloth that appears to be a blend of silk and linen (or, perhaps, is pure silk alone) the patterning and colourway of this jacket are exquisite--a classic herringbone in light brown and cream. This jacket has a standard two-button front with a single center vent. It has four buttons cuffs with faux buttonholes and two flapped front pockets with lapped seams at the top of the flaps. It is, of course, fully canvassed and fully lined, and has a single center vent. The entire jacket is hand-made, including the hand-stitched buttonholes and the hand-stitched padding under the arms in the lining. It was, of course, made in the USA. More precisely, it was made in Princeton, NJ!
This jacket was worn very sparingly by its original owner--an executive Vice President or a major marketing company--who treasured it. It is thus is almost mint condition.
This is a very, very rare opportunity indeed to own not only a superbly hand-tailored jacket from one of America's premier tailors, but an item that has a direct connection to *Sunset Boulevard*, one of America's premier movies!
As such, this is a bargain at just NOW $65, OR OFFER, boxed, shipped, and insured in the USA.
International inquiries welcome, with shipping at cost!
Measurements:
Chest: 21 1/2
Sleeve: 25 (+1)
Shoulder: 19 1/2
Length: 31 1/2
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