Dating an apple green 'tulip' dress?

[Mad Catter]

Not sure if that's what this style is called?
The top fabric *might* be organza? See-through, catches on itself when rubbed together. Not audible. Tulle underneath. Sorry about the weird colours in the photos. Still haven't got a place I can take pics with enough light. In real life, it's the colour of a granny smith apple.
No label and not sure what to call the white woven fabric. Home made I think since the sewing is by machine but things don't line up perfectly in some places like the zipper area.
Thanks for any help offered

 

[Better Dresses Vintage]

Pretty. Looks like a (early to mid) 60s party dress. That stiff, white lining stuff is probably buckram. It's just a stiff, woven interfacing fabric that helps the dress keep its shape. I'd call it a "tulip skirt," too : ). Organza describes the weave of the fabric, and can be made of many different fibers, including silk, polyester, and even cotton (although when it's cotton/silk and very fine and stiff it's organdy, which is the best stuff ever. My favorite fabric.).

 

[Mad Catter]

Ah, the buckram makes sense, I've used that for hats but didn't recognize it in that form. Not quite as stiff/heavy but definitely the same stuff. I'll have to see if I can snip out a teensy piece of a seam to test the organza or organdy. Good to know! I should start a fabric cheat-sheet with all this info.
Thanks you again!

 

[Linn]

I am pretty sure the dress is late 1950's and that the lining is Pellon. Very pretty.

 

[Pinkcoke]

I also had a tulip shaped dress from a similar period and I think we decided the lining was pellon - it's stiff enough to stand up on it's own?

 

[Mad Catter]

Hi Linn and Melanie,
Thank you, hopefully this will help? Here's a picture of the heavy grade buckram I use for hat type sculptures sitting beside the lining in question. It's the heaviest grade from the fabric store so not a perfect comparison but people here may see more than meets the eye
The lining won't hold up on it's own but it's still stiffer than say, a piece of common cotton muslin. If I squeeze it between my fingers as though I'm making a crease, the crease doesn't hold or show the crease at all.
Most of the stiffness in the dress is from the organza type material, there's 2 layers of it, then a satin type layer and then the Pellon/buckram.

Here's the pic with the purchased heavy buckram on the left and the lining on the right.

 

[Midge]

I'm not sure about the correct term for this, but it's definitely not pellon.

 

[Better Dresses Vintage]

I am pretty sure the dress is late 1950's and that the lining is Pellon. Very pretty.

Pellon. Buckram. It's all the same sort of thing. A stiff fabric never used on the outside of a garment and only meant to create and keep a certain shape/silhouette. Pellon's a name brand, if I recall correctly.

 

[Better Dresses Vintage]

Yes, Pellon is the manufacturer. Buckram is the fabric.

 

[Linn]

Sorry, I did not come back to this thread, but the lining shown in the close-up of the apple green tulip dress as Midge remarked above is NOT Pellon. It does appear to be more like a heavy buckram and does appear to be a woven fabric - which pellon is not.

Pellon is not the same as buckram.:

"In 1950, Pellon® interfacings were introduced in the United States. The new materials were resilient, lightweight and lint free and they forever changed the textile and apparel industry. Soon after its introduction, the name Pellon® was synonymous with non-woven fabrics.
History | Pellon® Projects
www.pellonprojects.com/about/about-us/history/"

Pellon looks like this: