Faux lamb coat

[AngAllen]

Hello! I have a question about this coat. After researching using the fur resource, I've ascertained that this is faux fur (there is no skin - the curly material is attached directly to a lining - but please let me know if I'm wrong). That being said, the construction of this coat is confusing me. First, the attached scarf with fur tails is reminiscent of several examples I have seen from 1950s and 1960s, though I have seen a 1980s coat with the attached cross-over scarf feature. The coat is stitched in four different colors of thread - black, gray, white, and pink - with the seams being stitched in different colors. There is interlocking on the two side seams. Some other seams, originally which look open/French, were stitched over and closed with a zig zag stitch. I would guess this is homemade.

There are no labels (I searched every seam) and the coat is lined in a stiffer pink material that feels like taffeta. Regarding the fit, there is a bit of a nipped waist, and no shoulder pads. Any advice you have or resources you could point me to regarding how to date this coat would be much appreciated.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

I see more of a thick boucle wool when looking at your photos and it looks 1950s to me with a princess style line to it.
Nice find!

 

[Vinclothes]

I've never known what to call that net lined grey interlining stuff. I will be interesting in knowing what others call it. Pretty coat. The proportions seem a little off; do you think it has been shortened. If it were longer I would think 1940's. What kind of shoulder pads?
Marian

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

I too see a fake curly lamb or boucle fabric.
It does appear to be shortened and late 40s to early 50s

 

[AngAllen]

I see more of a thick boucle wool when looking at your photos and it looks 1950s to me with a princess style line to it.
Nice find!

Thank you! I will look into the difference between thick boucle wool and faux curly lamb.

 

[AngAllen]

I've never known what to call that net lined grey interlining stuff. I will be interesting in knowing what others call it. Pretty coat. The proportions seem a little off; do you think it has been shortened. If it were longer I would think 1940's. What kind of shoulder pads?
Marian

Thanks for your input! I also do not know what to call the grey interlining. I think it's possible it could have been shortened. There are not shoulder pads present - the shoulders have bulk from the thick material, so it looks like there are shoulder pads.

 

[AngAllen]

I too see a fake curly lamb or boucle fabric.
It does appear to be shortened and late 40s to early 50s

Thanks so much for your input! The proportions do seem off and I could certainly see it having been shortened.

 

[retro ruth]

Thank you! I will look into the difference between thick boucle wool and faux curly lamb.

They can look a similar. Boucle wool fabric can look quite like lambskin, and I think it does sometimes deliberately imitate it. As an imitator it has the advantage of being made from the same material, ie it's made of shorn wool, rather than skins, but it is still from the sheep.

Faux curly lamb however isn't necessarily made of real wool, it may be made of synthetic materials, as faux fur is, and is usually a piled (furry) surface on one side only. Whereas boucle wool fabric could be a woven fabric that is similar on both sides. I think you do (or did) sometimes get faux fur made of real wool (if that makes sense!), where the pile would be wool, but the backing something else. You might call such a fabric boucle wool or faux fur, so it seems to me there's a slightly blurry line between the two types of fabric.

So I suggest the main question is whether the pile fibre is synthetic or wool, which you could test by cutting a little off from the inside and burn testing. It may be a blend of course.

Out of interest this is a 1960s coat that is a faux curly lamb - this is definitely synthetic fibre, not wool, and has been cut in such a way as to imitate the curls of persian lamb. I don't have the coat anymore but from memory it had a similar backing to yours.

 

[pastperfect2]

I think it's got a bit of early to mid 1950s fit & flare going for it and those black and rhinestone buttons were super popular in the 50s. I agree it may have been shortened later on the 50s. I think we can safely say it's not 1980s or 1960s.

 

[foreveraftervintage]

Beautiful. I see early to mid 50s based. The lining really fits that time.
The interlinings are often made of a thin layer of linen or cotton muslin.
It doesn’t look like it’s trying to mimic lamb to me. It looks like it’s just boucle wool. Those fur tails are real and they look like sable tails. If you show those tails closer I can tell you for certain.