Flower Market · Zokky Melbourne Black Satin Wrap Blouse
Satin-weave multi-fibre blend · bold painted floral print · deep V wrap front · 3/4 sleeves · 2 mother-of-pearl buttons · curved hem · Zokky Melbourne · late 1980s to early 1990s · L 59cm flat · AU 10–12 · Very good
The print is bold and loose, large poppies and flowers in vermillion, orange, and teal on a deep black satin ground, the brushstroke-style painting of each bloom occupying serious real estate across the fabric. The front wraps and crosses at a deep V, secured with two mother-of-pearl disc buttons. The sleeves are three-quarter, easy at the wrist. The back has a centre seam. The hem curves slightly at the front. In black satin, in this print, this is a blouse that does the work.
Zokky was a Melbourne label producing pieces for women who liked their clothing with some clarity of intent. This blouse sits in the late 1980s to early 1990s, when Australian fashion was absorbing the decade's last bold moves before paring back.
Material
Satin-weave multi-fibre blend (acetate, rayon, polyamide, polyester, Lycra)
Care
hand-wash gently, or dry clean. Do not wring. Lay flat to dry or hang briefly. Cool iron only if needed.
More on looking after vintage pieces in our care guide.
Size
Measured flat: length 59cm, bust 46cm, waist 41cm, the sleeves 47cm long and 15cm wide. With the wrap to adjust her, she reads as an AU 10–12.
Our size guide explains how vintage sizing is read here.
Condition
very good. The black is deep and untroubled. Minor loved-in softness at the wrap fold, consistent with previous wear. The satin is clean and holds its sheen. The wrap sits well. The buttons are sound.
Our condition lexicon explains the grades we use.
Before it reaches you
Someone loved this before you did, and I try to honour that properly. Each piece is hand washed, or cleaned in the way that the fabric permits, then steamed until it softens and straightens and feels newly attended to. Wherever a button was missing, it has been replaced with a vintage one from my long-kept collection. Wherever a hem had given way, I fix it by hand. By the time it leaves this room it is genuinely clean, pressed, whole, and looked over one final time before I let myself believe it is ready. Not restored. Not made new. Just returned to a state where it can be loved again, by someone who was not there the first time.
The poppies were painted by a brush that had somewhere better to be, which is exactly why they are perfect. Melbourne had the whole trick decades early: bloom loudly, wrap securely, explain nothing. Two shell buttons hold the entire argument together, and have never once lost it. Put her on and the room shifts slightly in your direction, then pretends it always sat that way.