Cocktail suit

Mrs. Kempner favored certain styles and would acquire them with less regard to their provenance than their usefulness. The sharply tailored cocktail suit is not typical of the designs she generally sought from her couturier friend, Valentino. Typically, Mrs. Kempner's Valentinoes include vividly colored day suits, prettily patterned dresses, glittering evening jackets and fluttering gowns. This short evening ensemble, which combines the ease of a suit with details appropriate for semi-formal evening events is, for all its chic, an especially utilitarian expression for the designer. The jacket's bow-trimmed back, however, is an assertion of Valentino's signature prettiness.