When Did The Old Letter Sizing Start/End?

[Liz Glover]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to date a vintage jumper I have but also wondered when the "old" letter sizing labels existed from and till. I thought it was the start of the 20th century to around the 50s but am I out time wise there?

I've added the label I have (in this case "W") and a chart example from the 30s that I found online.

Thanks in advance.

Liz

 

[MagsRags]

You are clearly dealing with UK-related nuances - jumper instead of sweater, size W - that are not in my area of expertise! Hopefully someone from the correct side of the Atlantic will be along with worthwhile opinions.

It does occur to me that the other angle to look at is when was "Gt. Britain" being used on clothing labels? In the US, there was a progression of state abbreviations, with and without the use of the period.

And Bairns-wear sounds like it ought to be kids clothing, but from that table, probably not in size W. Maternity wear? Or something else entirely?

 

[Liz Glover]

You are clearly dealing with UK-related nuances - jumper instead of sweater, size W - that are not in my area of expertise! Hopefully someone from the correct side of the Atlantic will be along with worthwhile opinions.

It does occur to me that the other angle to look at is when was "Gt. Britain" being used on clothing labels? In the US, there was a progression of state abbreviations, with and without the use of the period.

And Bairns-wear sounds like it ought to be kids clothing, but from that table, probably not in size W. Maternity wear? Or something else entirely?

Hi Maggie,

Yup, I'm in England ha! Sweater, jumper or pullover - any will do haha! And it's a woman's size. I posted pictures of it in a separate post but thought finding info on sizing would be handy for this and future reference. Bairns-Wear were a textiles company in the UK but also produced knitting patterns for male, female and kids so a wide range of offerings.

Thats a fair point with "Gt Britain". All I can find at the moment is that it's been interchangeable between "Great Britain" and "United Kingdom" or "England" etc over the years (often "Great Britain" being used for grandeur ha!) but the abbreviation may be useful as you say; unless it's just shortened to fit on the small label of course. Could be a key point though, thanks!

I've also found this online so maybe the sizing was generally pre 50s (although I guess there may be some overlap).

 

[retro ruth]

This is great info.I don’t think we ever did get A, B, C etc though!

In my experience Great Britain / England does fade out in favour of United Kingdom on labels , I think around 60s/70s/80s, so earlier than this.

FWIW Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not interchangeable as terms, as Great Britain doesn’t include Northern Ireland and UK does.

 

[Liz Glover]

This is great info.I don’t think we ever did get A, B, C etc though!

In my experience Great Britain / England does fade out in favour of United Kingdom on labels , I think around 60s/70s/80s, so earlier than this.

FWIW Great Britain and the United Kingdom are not interchangeable as terms, as Great Britain doesn’t include Northern Ireland and UK does.

Thanks again Ruth and I don't think we got the A B C letter labelling either ha! Unless it was incredibly short lived! I'll keep all you said in mind Thanks for your help with the questions I've had x