This straight-cut jacket is similar to the one worn by the Duchess of Windsor (Mrs Wallis Simpson) in her engagement photographs taken by Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980). She wore it over a long white crêpe dress with a sequin sash matching the jacket (American Vogue magazine, 1 June 1937, pages 52-57; British Vogue, 9 June 1937, pages 54-56). Beaton's photographs of Mrs Simpson in her Mainbocher ensemble were particularly successful. Its stark, simple lines suited her elegant, uncluttered style.

Mainbocher (1891-1976) was a fashion artist and became fashion editor of French Vogue. He opened his own couture establishment in Paris in 1931, closing it in 1939 to re-open in New York in 1940. Mainbocher was celebrated for his lavish evening ensembles, which often consisted of a long dark skirt and jacket of contrasting materials. This jacket by him forms part of the Cecil Beaton Collection. With great energy and determination, Beaton contacted the well-dressed elite of Europe and North America to help create this lasting monument to the art of dress. The Collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range (the catalogue number of this jacket is 174, page 35).