Brooks Uniform Co., tailor

This tailor-made suit, worn by Michael Strange (pseudonym of poet and actor Blanche Oelrichs), exemplifies socio-political dandyism as expressed by women. Married to John Barrymore, Strange described the pleasure they enjoyed as a couple as they explored the boundaries of gender definition through clothing choice: "Jack and I dressed in a manner never affected before or since. Pleatings and flutings appeared on his trousers, duplications of the ones on my skirt....He considerably lowered his shirt collars, of which I instantly had a dozen copies made."
Strange wore this suit, tailored by Brooks Uniform Company, in everyday life and when she played the role of Napoleon II in L'Aiglon. The suit's skillful construction is offset by the ethereal silk organdy dickey and trompe l'oeil bow time.