100 % Silk Vintage Rena Rowan Dress Suit, Dress size 8, Blazer size 4. This is a one-of-a-kind piece (per my Google search I was not able to find it anywhere else) and it’s in excellent preowned condition. In tune with the modern woman’s body, the dress is bigger than the blazer. It’s likely that the individual who purchased this item had large hips and a small chest. In fitting the pieces to my mannequin, the blazer, and the dress do feel true to size. Please see all the measurements in the photos.
I found the designer's story to be very interesting, and she actually helped found Jones’s New York (and as you can see from the silk dress suit) it’s very reminiscent of the corporate yet feminine Jones New York look. According to her obituary: Rena Rowan Damone of Palm Beach, cofounder with Sidney Kimmel of Jones New York, died Sunday, Nov. 6, 2016. She was 88 and the wife of singer Vic Damone. She was born Jan. 4, 1928 in Lida, Poland. She was exiled with her mother and sister to Siberia during World War II. The family emigrated to the United States when she was 17. Her first marriage, to Philadelphian James Rowan, produced four children but ended in divorce. She supported her young family as a model and by designing & making custom clothing.
