2 dresses- need help IDing!

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GreenVioletVintage

Registered Guest
Hi all- I'm back again! The vintage gods have treated me well this week. I picked up these two dresses and need a little help. I have my suspicions about their ages but I'm not as well versed in 50s and 60s so I hope can ya'll can confirm my guesses. Thanks again for all your help!

Green Dress- I'm guessing mid 60s? Does the little treatment on the front have any specific name?







And this black dress, I'm guessing late 50s or 60s but its missing any tags (though i think there were some originally that were removed at some point, doesn't appear to be handmade). Has internal pinked seams and nylon talon zip.




I'm trying to learn as much as I can about these eras so any info would be much appreciated! Thanks again!
 
The Union label on the green dress is the one from 1963-1974 so mid to late '60's fits. The second dress looks early '60's to me, too - possibly very late '50's.

Linn
 
yep I think mid 60s on first and I lean to the earliest of 60s on the first.... I actaly "feel" you could call it a cusper.. but thats my opinion, something about that waist line says late 50s to me but the little neck feature more 60s. More along that 50s "wiggle' style but then again the style spilled into the 60s also.

The more I look at it I think late 50s....The waist is nagging at me... it appears to sit right on the natural waistline.
 
Thanks Jennifer- I can see exactly what you are saying! The skirt is definitely in the 50s wiggle style and sits at the the natural waist like you said, if not a bit lower (its really just above the hips). And, I can see what you are saying about that bust treatment being 60s. So either its 50s with a fashion forward top or 60s but stuck in the previous decade! ha!
 
Originally posted by GreenVioletVintage
Thanks Jennifer- I can see exactly what you are saying! The skirt is definitely in the 50s wiggle style and sits at the the natural waist like you said, if not a bit lower (its really just above the hips). And, I can see what you are saying about that bust treatment being 60s. So either its 50s with a fashion forward top or 60s but stuck in the previous decade! ha!
Click to expand...

That pencil skirt style was also very popular in the early 1960's. If the dress IS early 60's try not to think that it is stuck in the previous decade due to the fact that it has a pencil or "wiggle" skirt. That is actually spot on for that time period. It could definitely be a cusper, but with the nylon zip, the neckline, the sleeve length and the waist pleating I am getting a later vs earlier vibe.

Have you turned the dress inside out? Sometimes I find a tag when I do this on dresses that I thought had no tag.
 
Thanks Amber, thats great info! I really appreciate everything ya'll have taught me here! I checked one more time but i can't find any tags- though I can see a little spot on the back of the collar where it may have been removed. However, there is something a bit interesting. Printed on the fabric on the side of the zippers it says "Iron Like Nylon, Avoid Hot Iron". I'm guessing this is one of the earliest iterations of the non-metal zip!
 
It is very likely a very early nylon zip. This is about the time period where you see the major transition from metal to nylon start to take place. However, metal zips were used well past this point in time and can still be purchased at the fabric store so best to not judge date solely on the zipper. It is only one piece of the puzzle.

One thing that I have started to do is to collect old sears and JC penny catalogs as well as the books "Fashionable Clothing From The Sears Catalogs" that have books for the different eras. Although I have my dating down pretty good for this era, it helps me to pin point dates a bit better and to explpore the eras that are a bit out of my comfort zone. You can find them on eBay or amazon.
 
In addition to lots and lots of books, I have the "Everyday Fashions from the Sear's Catalog" series - 1920's - 1960's and do check them for dates. It's important to remember that some of the really fashionable looks took awhile - like a season or two to make it to the Sear's catalog, so some of the fashions on these pages may have been in upscale department stores one or two seasons earlier.

Also, some styles like pencil skiirts were in fashion for many years in both the '50's and '60's. The relatively short length of the black dress makes me think it is early '60's rather than late '50s - unless it has been shortened. The lengths were generally longer in the late '50's and then got gradually shorter until the mid-late '60's when they got really, really mini-skirt short!

Sometimes it is hard to be really precise with dating unless you find an ad for a particular piece. Clues like Union tags just give us a range as do zipper materials and placement.

I learn something new almost every day on this Forum!

Linn
 
I agree with everyone on the dating, and think the second one (which is really lovely) could easily be either late 50s or early 60s. Nylon zippers were used commercially dating back into the 50s, though not widespread and usually in upscale designer pieces. I don't think you can go wrong billing it late 50s/early 60s. The fabric on both looks like very nice stuff-both silk, it looks like....
 
Thanks all! This is such great info, I will certainly have to look up some of these resources! Anne- these pieces are very lovely but i wasn't so lucky as to stumble upon silk 60s dresses in my local goodwill! They both look silk but the green one is definitely cotton or a cotton blend (it was super wrinkly) and the black seems to be some sort of nylon. Still- they both look silk and are much easier to care for than silk would be, so thats a bonus in my book!
 
Sorry I missed this thread. I love both dresses and agree completely with the dates. I can also thoroughly recommend the Sears catalogues for everyday fashions throughout the decades. They're very reasonably priced. I bought myself a few and was lucky enough to get some at Christmas. I've a lot of reading to do. Great finds! :sunshine:
 
Oh and montgomery wards catelouges are nice too!

My hubby got me some for christmas last year and it was from 1945? If i remeber corretly or maybe 54 but anywho it featured new "textiles" so it had a whole page and about 8 swatches of rayon blends as well as some acetates and cotton with different textures... it was a GREAT resource!
 
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