The fur is just exquisite. Thick beautiful heavy lamb, tightly curled and finest quality - nicely matched and worked in a tailored jacket style I have really liked. Stunning when worn, it's definitely a 'go anywhere' fur. I would guesstimate it was made in 1970s and I've owned it 20 years. I'm not much into wearing furs, but I've accumulated some I've worn maybe once or twice. I did not have this one custom tailored but someone about may size did. When I found it it was a perfect fit. I'm 5'8" tall, then a 6-10 size range depending upon designer. I think the jacket, which feels custom tailored for me, would be a size 10-12, or Medium. The silk satin lining is heavy and lush and as you can see, no flaws, no stains or signs of use. The furrier's tag remains: "Julius Garfinckel & Co. Washington". And it was custom monogrammed A Y H. Please by by the measurements which are as follows:
24" sleeve, measured from shoulder seam
23" long, back neck seam to hem
18" shoulder, seam to seam
5" collar at back, 6" lapel, turns up beautifully or lies flat (shown both ways)
22" armpit to armpit, with 4" overlap double-breasted (can be larger in body by moving the eye for the hook closure - simple.
49.5" circumference at hem.
Slit pockets both sides, mid-way between side seam and front.
Very good to excellent for age and type, it is as fine as when it was custom made. I'm certain it was a very pricey one, it's very beautiful. Silk satin lining is in fine form. There are no odors, no stains, no loss of fur. The large lapel collar turns up and is just stunning. The jacket is straight fall but slightly fitted around waist a bit so it looks superb in wear. The overlap at front closure is currently 3", so it could be sized up a bit by moving buttons/snaps. The buttons which were on it when I bought it were round marble sized black ones, double-breasted, and I removed them. One are not the closures, there is a hook snap and corresponding ring, so you'd really just need to put your choice of button where you'd like and use the elastic closure loop to latch the button for closure. I love this one with collar up, and it's gorgeous with all of my AKRIS charcoal to black wool slacks or with jeans, either way. Has been preserved perfectly. No losses.
** "
Garfinckel’s Department Store, designed in 1929 by the New York architecture firm of Starrett and Van Vleck, is an excellent example of a 1920s department store. By 1928, founder Julius Garfinckel (1872-1936) was the leading clothier in Washington, operating out of a complex of buildings at the corner of Thirteenth and F Streets NW. In that year, he announced that a nine-story building would be designed to contain all of the store’s departments under one roof. The building was prominently sited here, on the northwest corner of the intersection of Fourteenth and F Streets NW.
More than any other retail establishment or retailer in the city, Garfinckel’s Department Store and its founder Julius Garfinckel became synonymous with top-quality merchandise and attentive customer service. Garfinckel’s Department Store set the tone for all other Washington clothing retailers, and was influential in shaping the city’s retail core.
Garfinckel made important contributions to the city’s retail and economic development through his major chain of department stores, setting the tone for style and sophistication in DC for eighty years." (Historicalsites.dcpreservation.org)