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Sequin dress - sold as 80s vintage

Discussion in 'PUBLIC Vintage Fashion - Ask Questions Get Answers' started by Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021.

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  1. Betine Huflaten

    Betine Huflaten Registered Guest

    Hello everyone,

    I recently bought a sequin dress at Etsy. It was listed as a 80s dress, made of silk. On closer inspection I thought the silhouette as well as the appearance of the sequins looked rather modern, but I am not an expert in the field. When I received the dress I found that the back label was ripped out and the washing label in the skirt was cut off. The dress looked brand new with a polyester lining. A beautiful dress, but something that could have been sold in ASOS, Zara or Topshop. I confronted the seller and she claims that the labels were already removed when she bought the dress on auction, as labels sometimes need to be removed to comply with shop returning policies. Is this really the case? (I am not familiar with the situation in U.K.)

    I noticed that one customer did write in a review that the had noticed labels had been removed, so I find it hard to believe the seller did not do this deliberately...

    What do you think? Is it something about this dress that says 80s, or did the seller simply rip me off? It sounds fishy, right?


    Thank you for advice in advance.
    Best regards,
    Bety
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2021
    Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021
    #1
  2. Betine Huflaten

    Betine Huflaten Registered Guest

    Skjermbilde 2021–01–04 kl. 18.58.15.png
     
    Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021
    #2
  3. Betine Huflaten

    Betine Huflaten Registered Guest

    Skjermbilde 2021–01–04 kl. 18.59.46.png
     
    Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021
    #3
  4. MagsRags

    MagsRags VFG President Staff Member

    Shoulder pads, or thread remnants where they used to be? The 80s beaded silk dresses usually had honking big shoulder pads.
     
    MagsRags, Jan 4, 2021
    #4
    The Vintage Merchant likes this.
  5. Betine Huflaten

    Betine Huflaten Registered Guest

    No shoulder pads nor remnants. I expected to find them as well, so I guess that is a red flag.
     
    Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021
    #5
  6. Racked Vintage

    Racked Vintage Alumni VFG Past President

    Open backs were huge in 1999/ early 2000s.
     
    Racked Vintage, Jan 4, 2021
    #6
  7. MagsRags

    MagsRags VFG President Staff Member

    If I were in your position, I might ask the seller to help me understand how she went about dating the dress - what evidence did she see that you are not seeing? And the outer dress fabric may well be silk even with a poly lining, but how did she determine it was silk, with the care & content tags removed?

    These are reasonable questions under the circumstances IMO.
     
    MagsRags, Jan 4, 2021
    #7
    GemGem, Circa Vintage Clothing, Distantdetails and 3 others like this.
  8. Betine Huflaten

    Betine Huflaten Registered Guest

    That is a very good advice. I will definitely do that, thank you.
     
    Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021
    #8
    GemGem and MagsRags like this.
  9. Retro Ruth

    Retro Ruth VFG Member Staff Member

    Yes this is the case. If say Top Shop or M&S sell off stock, such as last years stock that they no longer want to sell in the store, labels are always removed, to prevent people buying it at a discount store, then returning it to Top Shop or M&S and asking for a refund.

    So it is very common for the brand labels to be removed, or partially cut out, when stock is being sold off in this way from the original manufacturer. They don't always remove care and content labels as well though, but they might. The reason for doing this is to prevent the brand being identified, not the fabric content.

    If she is selling delabelled new stock, it's more likely to be recent than vintage IMO.

    I'm not seeing 80s.

    Some sellers don't give much importance to these kind of details, and describe it any way they think will help it sell. She may have even meant '80s style' but not made that clear.

    It's a nice dress though.
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2021
    Retro Ruth, Jan 4, 2021
    #9
    GemGem, Circa Vintage Clothing and MagsRags like this.
  10. Betine Huflaten

    Betine Huflaten Registered Guest

    Thank you for your comprehensive answer, that explains a lot. (I am from Norway and thus not familiar with how the brands delabel stock in the U.K.) The seller did indeed describe this item as a “vintage item from the 80s”. The dress is lovely, but as you say, definitely not an authentic 80s.
     
    Betine Huflaten, Jan 4, 2021
    #10
    Retro Ruth likes this.
  11. Retro Ruth

    Retro Ruth VFG Member Staff Member

    I hope you manage to resolve it with the seller to your satisfaction.
     
    Retro Ruth, Jan 4, 2021
    #11
    Betine Huflaten likes this.

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