Singular among the clothes in the show is a superbly cut black wool coat and trouser suit of 1928, made for Michael Strange, which was the pseudonym of Blanche Oelrichs, a poet who was once married to the actor John Barrymore.

WSJ: Beau Brummell and His Heirs | Men of Fashion | RISD Museum | By Laura Jacobs

For fall, she gets a black-and-oyster lame dress, a metallic tweed suit and a jet-black silk and wool gown with a beaded back, cutout bodice and mermaid hemline.

WSJ: Friendships bubble up at NY Fashion Week

It won't take much work to "convert" Ralph Lauren 's antique grey flannel three-piece suit, Oscar de la Renta's black double-faced wool dress or Tommy Hilfiger's high-waisted silk pants paired with a draped sweater into office attire.

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