Little Known Labels: Sebastian Knits

A lady called us up awhile back to sell vintage clothing to us, and one of the labels she'd uncovered was Sebastian.  Oh, Sebastian!  To her it was a delight.  To us, it was hitherto unknown.

It took a trip over and a dig through the old clothes to see what Sebastian was - and is.  Of the many knitwear labels available in the 1960s, Sebastian is pure wool, great quality, and impeccably Italian.  The Cadillac label is comparable, as well as Promenade and some of the better Butte Knits.

But Sebastian stands proud as bolder, brighter, and unabashedly head-turning.  High-contrast colors and large-scale patterning is prominent.  Sebastian strove for an ensemble effect, and the head-to-toe look is (and was) of-the-moment.  Quality is obvious, in thick, soft knits with price tags to match. The ensemble above was marked $185.00 in the mid-1960s - over $1350 in modern-day dollars.






There's little known about the history of this label, except that the California-based company specialized in pure wool fashions - and only pure wool - since 1947.  They made only knitted dresses, separates and coats, and they had a heyday in the 1960s, with the popularity of knitwear in every shape and form from day to evening.

 

The last mention of Sebastian's existence was in 1983 to announce the company's closing.  Though most of the company's history is not yet uncovered, one thing is clear - they made top quality clothes and they didn't cut corners.  That's reason enough to know this label as a stellar example of 60s fashion.



Sources:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=djft3U1LymYC&dat=19611115&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Oc-rVwKPngoC&dat=19831025&b_mode=2&hl=en
https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=Aul-kAQHnToC&dat=19671021&b_mode=2&hl=en