50s Arrow Loop Collar

[RustySpurVintage]

Howdy! I have this cool loop collar shirt that I think is from the 50s. Can anyone verify? Also, it is 55% "Viscose Rayon" and 45% Polyester and has a few small drip stains down the front. How would you clean these? Finally, the buttons look like they are pearl. Is that correct? Thanks again!!!

 

[RustySpurVintage]

A little more info. The tag reads "Arrow Contour Tailored" and "Made in USA." Been researching a lot online. It might be from the 40s. I could be totally wrong.

 

[RustySpurVintage]

Here is the closest thing I found to what I have. I pulled this pic from an auction site. I have to be a member to see better pictures and to see how much it sold for. It was posted on eBay in 2010 but I guess eBay's advanced search feature doesn't go back that far. But as you can see, it is the same style, pattern, buttons, and it appears to have the same silky lining around the inside of the collar/shoulders.

 

[RustySpurVintage]

And...it might be a gabardine. Not sure. Totally flailing around here. I also searched through the VFG Arrow page and looked at all the labels. I can't find this one. All the "Contour Tailored" labels from the 50s say "Sanforized" or something else on them. So maybe it is a little earlier?

 

[The Vintage Merchant]

Adam looks like you've got a great shirt there!

i will try to get back to you tomorrow -it's late for me right now, but i wanted to say hello!

 

[RustySpurVintage]

Thanks, Mary. Have a good night.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hello - I think your shirt (it's a lovely shirt) is from the '60s.

Clues are the small collar, note how it's smaller than the big collared '40s shirt - and the fabric. Polyesters were invented in the '50s but they were known by the names of the factories that produced them until the '60s (early names include Dacron, Terylene and Arnel). The fact that the composition is in percentages also indicates it's more modern than the '40s shirt.

 

[RustySpurVintage]

Thanks, Nicole. How would you get the drip stains out?

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Soak in an oxy cleaner with hot water. Polyester likes to hold stains though so it might not come out - hard to know when you don't know what caused them

 

[joules]

Agree with Nicole, on the 60s dating.

You're gravitating to the oldies, very well.

Here is a blog post about shell pearl buttons:
http://www.etsy.com/blog/en/2010/mother-of-pearl-buttons-from-the-banks-of-the-mississippi/

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

The buttons look like a pearlised plastic to me: '60s like the shirt.

 

[thespectrum]

Another clue to 60s dating: Contour Tailored refers to the shape of the shirt. It's slightly curved through the waist, it doesn't have that boxy silhouette of the 40s shirt.

 

[joules]

Can't tell from the photos, about the buttons, so provided the link for informative purposes.

 

[RustySpurVintage]

Thanks, everyone! I'll try the oxy cleaner and hope for the best!

 

[northstarvintage]

I love that plaid!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Thanks for the link, Joules - I love MOP buttons, it was great to learn more about them.

 

[Elsewhere]

I'm with Nicole (& others) who felt 60's on this. If it were 40's, the collar would be much bigger, as well. Even 50's would have a bigger collar. In the 60's, collars get pretty small by comparison. In addition, you really don't see a whole lot of polyester in garments. In the late 50's it makes some minor appearances - but really kicks into gear in the early/mid 60's - HOWEVER, the majority of the early use isn't marked as "Polyester", but rather as "Dacron" and other copyrighted poly names.
Nice shirt!!

 

[RustySpurVintage]

Oxy Clean and hot water soak for about 1.5 hours got out the stains. Thanks! (Now I have to figure out how to fix the satiny stuff lining the collar.)