At first glance this skirt simply looked like a nice early 1950s straight skirt in a lovely color and with an interesting button placement. But then I noticed the belt. It was a golf tee holder.
By that time the seller was starting to unbutton the skirt, which is not a skirt at all.
It is actually a culotte or divided skirt, but it is cleverly disguised by the stitched pleats. The back is also stitched, and it just looks like an inverted pleat.
This was not a new idea in the 1950s. Before it was acceptable for women to wear trousers, there were all kinds of ingenious ways to make a skirt have two legs. I have an example from the 1910s in my collection, and it is quite similar to this 1950s culotte skirt.
I really don’t know a thing about Sporteens, except that the listings that I’ve found of items for sale with the label are overwhelmingly skirts. I also found a 1944 ad for a jacket and matching skirt.
And here is a very similar one, but without the buttons, from California sportswear designer De De Johnson, 1952
Oh my! I’m quite in love with these!! How practical and the belt is simply fabulous!
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It was the belt that really did it for me.
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That is awesome! Love how they solved some of the “problems” of wearing a skirt and golfing, with such style.
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So clever and cute.
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OMG I loved this. Want, want, want!
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Now that’s a culotte I might actually want to wear! It’s so cute!
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Lovely detailing.
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What a fantastic design! And how interesting with the Skort being so big at the mo..so glad you can make the Blog Party!! xxxx
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Oooh! This post is just fuelling my obsession for vintage culottes and skorts even more. 😉 The belt with the tee holder is such a nice touch.
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The Vintage Traveler: Fuelling obsessions since 2004.
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I have a very similar skirt by Paddle and Saddle! There are only four buttons in the front, but it’s still mistaken for a skirt whenever I wear it.
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Sarah, that’s really interesting. I’d love to see a photo of it.
BTW, I’ll be posting about Paddle and Saddle later this week!
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Here’s my “skirt”: http://www.shareimages.com/image.php?67745-rJmWm5eik6Gqk5.cmA-photo.jpg
I CAN’T WAIT for your post about Paddle and Saddle! I enjoy wearing their clothing, but can’t seem to find much info on them online.
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Well, don’t get too excited because I don’t have a lot of information!
Are all the labels in your S&P things the same? I’d be curious to see if the label changed over he years.
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Yes, the labels are exactly the same.
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