1920s? silk dress/tunic - confirm date and cleaning advice plz?

zannew

zannew

Registered Guest
Hi,

I feel that this outfit is from the 1920s but wanted to confirm with you all. There is a silk skirt underneath. The tunic top is attached to the under shirt at the shoulders. Unfortunately it is very stained. The silk at the back of the collar is shattered. Is it salvageable? Should I sell "a is"? What is the correct name for this ensemble?

Thank you very much!

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Can you please post photos here in future, rather than thumbnails to another site - it's easier and I'm wary of clicking on external sites. You can read some guidelines on posting photos here.

Your ensemble is lovely, and looks to me to be early '20s, perhaps even a little earlier. I would call that an overdress.

Shattering is a result of aged silk that was washed with minerals that rot the fabric over the years: usually silk satins and taffetas, heavier fabrics that make nice rustling noises. The photo is small so I can't be sure but it looks like it's dry rot - you can read my blog post about dry rot here. The fabric becomes dry, brittle and literally crumbles in your hands. Sadly, it can't be fixed but if it's only a small piece you could perhaps replace that piece. I'd be worried about other areas developing dry rot in future though, as the whole dress would have been subject to the same conditions, but it probably affected the collar more because it was dirty when stored.
 
Thank you Nicole. I have learned how to provide thumbnail pics from this site instead. It should be easier to view them now. So sorry for my ignorance of the ease with which we can do that!
 
Do you think there is any hope for cleaning this and removing the stains on the cream color silk?
 
I doubt it. The fabrics are not colorfast, so wet washing is very risky. And the fabric is not sturdy enough to tolerate dry-cleaning. With the dry rot or shattering, you won't have anything left of the cream silk. The best bet is to air it out and sell as is.

It's a great dress.

Hollis
 
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