Green coat worn by Oprah Winfrey as Sofia in The Color Purple

Object Details

Designed by

Aggie Guerard Rodgers, American, born 1943

Manufactured by

Palace Costume Company, American, founded 1990

Worn by

Oprah Winfrey, American, born 1954

Subject of

Alice Walker, American, born 1944

Description

Green coat worn by Oprah Winfrey as the character Sofia Johnson in the film "The Color Purple." The full-length, long-sleeved, single-breasted coat is made from a dark green wool tweed plaid. The coat closes at the front with five (5) large round olive fabric-covered buttons that fasten using loops of black cord sewn to the edge of the proper right front. The front sides are turned open and stitched down near the and along the outer edges, making the button and loop closure non-functioning. A wide band of olive wool with stumpwork embroidery in olive rayon of a highly stylized leafy vine design is sewn around the front sides and around the collar, and is cut to follow the tapering of the turned front and the rounded notches at the turned collar. This same olive embroidered band is sewn around the cuff of both sleeves, which are also turned. The sleeves are slightly gathered using a length of the wool plaid attached at the exterior of each sleeve just above the cuff with two (2) round olive fabric-covered buttons, with the strips lined in green rayon. There are two (2) inset pockets, one on each exterior hip of the coat, with notched flaps made of the green plaid and light brown wool lining.

The coat is fully lined with a green cotton and rayon blend. There is a deep patch pocket made of the lining with an elastic top opening sewn to the interior proper right side of the coat. A long strip of black fabric is attached from shoulder to shoulder across the back neck of the coat, with long ends left loose. There is a barcode label adhered to the black strip at the center back neck with printed text above the barcode reading "PALACE COSTUME CO." and text below the barcode reading "37192643". A second label is sewn at the interior center back neck underneath the black strip made of off-white fabric with dark brown printed text reading "Palace Costume Co."

Credit Line

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture

1985

Object number

2014.184.1.2

Restrictions & Rights

No Known Copyright Restrictions

Type

coats

Medium

wool, cotton/rayon blend, elastic, and plastic buttons

Dimensions

H x W x D (On form): 55 3/4 × 26 × 19 in. (141.6 × 66 × 48.3 cm)

Place used

North Carolina, United States, North and Central America

California, United States, North and Central America

See more items in

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Classification

Clothing-Costume

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Topic

African American

Actors

Clothing and dress

Costume

Costume design

Design

Families

Film

Gender

LGBTQ

Literature

Sexuality

Violence

Women

Record ID

nmaahc_2014.184.1.2

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd592dc0e7d-7633-4c3b-bc41-9e050cd21e55