40s floral cotton blouse

plousia said:
Oh no the fabric isn't a synthetic, it is cotton. The sewing thread is synthetic.

For my education, do you mind kindly explaining what it is that indicates 80s in the construction? To me, the sewing techniques were what made me think it was older. As it is only straight machine and hand sewing.
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Re: the floral blouse
I see zig-zag seam finishing, too. [EDIT: Correction, machine blind-hem stitch.] It's very simply constructed and looks like beginner/advanced-beginner home-sewing techniques. Just how I was sewing in my early days... which were the 1970s/80s.

The other two blouses also look 80s to me.

This was just how I dressed back then! I especially loved the 80s-does-40s look.
 
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Wow, ok. Very good to know but I'm a bit flabbergasted. Truly had no idea. Glad to learn that but now I'm going to have to reevaluate everything.
 
plousia said:
Here's a couple more pics of the "serging" showing how uneven it is. Does anyone know what this stitch is called? I tried searching for it but haven't found anything that looks quite like it.
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This is a blind hem stitch, which did not exist as an option on sewing machines in the 1940s. Zig-zag stitch, yes, but not this blind hem stitch.
How+to+Sew+a+Blind+Hem+Stitch+by+Machine+_+Sew+DIY.jpeg


To weigh in on dating, I definitely see '80s, both in color palette and style of the floral print.
 
Ranch Queen Vintage said:
This is a blind hem stitch, which did not exist as an option on sewing machines in the 1940s. Zig-zag stitch, yes, but not this blind hem stitch.
View attachment 183536

To weigh in on dating, I definitely see '80s, both in color palette and style of the floral print.
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Thanks! I'm wondering why it's so uneven though? Is that just a factor of how the fabric is fed through the machine? I thought it meant it was done by hand.
 
plousia said:
Thanks! I'm wondering why it's so uneven though? Is that just a factor of how the fabric is fed through the machine? I thought it meant it was done by hand.
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I definitely think it was home-sewn. It could be due to the skill-level of the seamstress, or that the tension wasn't correct for the type or weight of fabric, or... There are many variables!

And, you would never hand sew a blind hem like this.
 
ok I want to check in on a few more things if that's all right.

The purple vest I thought was 40s or 50s, but thread burn tests as synthetic.

The blue blouse I wasn't sure about; it is handmade so hard (for me) to tell, but I'm guessing based on the rest of the thread, probably 80s? I haven't burn tested the thread, but the fabric is synthetic.

The jacket looks 50s-ish to me, but now I'm not sure. The fabric is a synthetic. I can't remember if I originally burn tested the thread.

Thanks for all the help....I truly appreciate getting this education.
 

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plousia said:
ok I want to check in on a few more things if that's all right.

The purple vest I thought was 40s or 50s, but thread burn tests as synthetic.

The blue blouse I wasn't sure about; it is handmade so hard (for me) to tell, but I'm guessing based on the rest of the thread, probably 80s? I haven't burn tested the thread, but the fabric is synthetic.

The jacket looks 50s-ish to me, but now I'm not sure. The fabric is a synthetic. I can't remember if I originally burn tested the thread.

Thanks for all the help....I truly appreciate getting this education.
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Just to clarify, the burn test is to determine the fiber content of the garment fabric - not the thread.
 
Yes, I do test the garment fabric as well, but I also snip off pieces of the sewing thread to test - I understood that's one way of dating items?
 
I personally don't bother testing thread, but others may think it provides worthwhile information.
While a burn test is always informative, without seeing how seams and hems are finished, it's a combination of research and guesswork. One definitely develops knowledge after years of handing various eras of garments, which is how many of us can quickly make an educated guess.

I'm not seeing '40s or '50s for any of these three garments. They look far more modern to me. Maybe '80s for blue floral blouse and '90s or even Y2K for the purple vest. The ivory jacket... ??
 
Wow, the guess for the vest surprises me. Can I know more about what indicates such a late date?

Now I'm really questioning how to tell anything. How do you know? I'm starting to feel I need to take a whole course in this, LOL.

There are some things that are pretty easy to tell, but the ones that seem to mainly trip me up are the handmade garments as there are fewer cues to go on and often they use older techniques. For example that blue blouse has hand-stitched buttonholes.
 
plousia said:
Wow, the guess for the vest surprises me. Can I know more about what indicates such a late date?

Now I'm really questioning how to tell anything. How do you know? I'm starting to feel I need to take a whole course in this, LOL.

There are some things that are pretty easy to tell, but the ones that seem to mainly trip me up are the handmade garments as there are fewer cues to go on and often they use older techniques. For example that blue blouse has hand-stitched buttonholes.
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I'm not claiming to *know*, honestly, it's just an educated guess.

With only a single image to evaluate, it's a bit like shooting in the dark. It's great that you show them on a dress form so we can see shape on a body, but if you can also post photos of the construction details (seams, labels, buttonholes, etc...) and/or list details like, "the blue blouse has hand-stitched buttonholes", that really helps us nail it down.
 
Ok I will try to post some more photos and details tomorrow. Thank you and everyone for your patience with me. I feel so ignorant but I appreciate your help to learn.
 
Retro Ruth said:
Just wanted to say, everyone finds it harder to date handmade garments, it’s not just you.

And I adore that purple vest!
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Thank you, that makes me feel a little better. I'm going to have to avoid them or run them by the forum perhaps until I can get better at it.
 
Also apparently polyester sewing thread was first introduced in 1955 - not sure if that’s for home sewers or for commercial production. So your thread burn testing is relevant to dating.

I’m not sure about nylon, but I really doubt it was available for home sewing in the 40s
 
Yes I do look at patterns, the commercial pattern archive is a gold mine, but now I am really confused about that as well. If styles are repeated in different decades, for example 40s styles in the 80s, how do you tell? I am baffled by how some here were able to just look at my blouses and tell they are 80s. It's kind of making me question everything, LOL.
 
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