Age of lace dress?

[Liz Turner]

Picking your brains again....! Here we have a lovely yellow dress sleeveless with chiffon ruching at the neck and skirt as shown. The label is Lesters from London - I can't find any information about them at all. Sadly some of the lace is torn on the skirt and worn near the armholes. It has a metal zip is machine sewn and measures approx 32" bust and 24" waist (teeny, tiny!)

I'm putting this up for sale in our costume clear out next week ( it's next week and I've still so much to do!). Can any of you give advice on -

approximate age? I'm thinking 1950s but not sure;
whether I should try to repair the lace? I could stitch together the holes in the skirt and stitch the frayed edges of the lace and chiffon to the bodice to prevent further damage, or should I simply leave it as it is (with the price to reflect that)?

Thanks.

 

[Liz Turner]

Hi - if anyone could give me any advice on this, I'd be hugely grateful. Thank you.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi Liz, I agree with '50s. I generally recommend leaving repairs to the buyer unless you have someone skilled to do it. It will sell for less if it's damaged though so you need to way it up.

It's a pretty dress and this sort of lace is often fragile. If you start to repair you might find that you have more work than you expected.

 

[Liz Turner]

Thanks Nicole for your advice. Could you possibly give me a rough idea of by what % you would reduce the price of a dress like this if it was damaged, as opposed to perfect?

Best wishes
Liz

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I can't offer any advice Liz, sorry. I generally repair all my items.