1950's Floral print cotton dressing gown / wrap dress - can't decide!

Pinkcoke

Alumni
What do you think this is? a dressing gown / wrap dress / housecoat? It has an inner tie as well as the outside belt.
Seems to be commercially made, all edges overlocked but no labels anywhere, has had several small home alterations, like the hem which has gone up 3" and a hanging loop put in.
As it's cotton do you think I could wash this in Oxy cleaner? It has some general yellow stains I think might come out but I don't know how it would affect the colours on printed cotton like this.
Is 50's right? It has these v shaped details to the pockets and sleeve cuffs, and a wide back to the collar. Also, when done up it has a distinctly flared shape. Princess seams.
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Ah, that's a good thing to know! Thankyou

Do you think I should let the hem down? It would make it more dressing gown length I suppose but it has some wear to the edge.
 
I would call this a house coat or dressing gown - and agree with '50s. A wrap dress wouldn't be full length and wouldn't have a sash belt.

Great print, and I agree with a gentle soak in Oxy cleaner. I usually take hems down but not if there is any wear on them.

I'm not seeing princess seams? This one has a set in waist, and the skirt is gathered: a classic '50s style. Princess seams do not have a waist, just vertical seams to shape through the bust-waist-hips. Also called a "fit and flare". Or do you mean the shaping in the bust, that there aren't any darts, just a curved seam to shape?
 
I'm going to say it's a housecoat/lightweight summer bathrobe. More made to wear over your pj's than alone, due to the bathrobe type construction. The dressing gowns I've had, have all been zip up the front type of affiars. Here is the last one I had

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Sorry, I probably called it princess seams incorrectly, the seams are in the same place as a princess cut on the bodice, with the addition of the waist seam. It's not clear on my photo but the seams carry on underneath the collar.

Thanks for the advice on cleaning and hems: I shall inspect how much wear there is on the hem but I think I will leave it as it's still a good long length.
 
Love this cute garment!

Agree with others on dating, and would characterize as a housecoat, or dresssing gown, fairly similar function.

There can be princess seaming in the bodice, as apart from the skirt. It's just a variation of darting, done as a curved seam, in any quadrant. I differ with Nicole regarding that detail.
 
Agree with others on dating, and would characterize as a housecoat, or dresssing gown, fairly similar function.

There can be princess seaming in the bodice, as apart from the skirt. It's just a variation of darting, done as a curved seam, in any quadrant.

I agree with Julie, and it is a really pretty piece! You can have princess seams in bodices that run from the sleeve seam (below the shoulder) to a fitted waist seam, or from the shoulder to the waist, both curved to shape over the bust. I think you can have them from the side seam bust to the waist, too (I think that's the "any quadrant" factor, right, Julie?), but I haven't seen many like that. I've mostly seen them from the sleeve seam to the waist.
 
Do you think I could call the pink flowers poppies? I don't know if the blue ones are some sort of giant daisy/ sunflower maybe.
 
Hello, definitely a housecoat. Could also date to the late 40s. I have a Horrockses housecoat in my collection that due to the label i can effectively date to late 1940s. Very similar in shape and style. Its a nice typical example of the period : ) Type in Horrockses housecoat to google images and quite a few pop up in a v similar shape to yours.
 
I'm going to chime in and say that the print looks late '40's to me - as well as the style. It's so pretty! It reminds me of a late 1940's taffeta dress I bought last August - and have never worn....
 
I'm hard pressed to keep this, it fits me well but it's not warm enough to wear something as light as this in the UK!
 
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