Hi everyone! I’m just wondering if anyone is able to tell me anything about this coat I purchased from Facebook marketplace. I absolutely love it. It has the tag Blin(m)? & blin(m) inside the front of it & the tag Ipanema on the collar. Many thanks for any info!
Hello Kristy, welcome! I found another person asked about Blin & Blin some time ago: https://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/looking-for-info-on-blin-et-blin-coat.42786/ I don't know the Ipanema label, and it's hard to see what era the coat is. Can you show the back and the labels?
It looks like Blin & Blin closed in 1975. There's a contemporary French brand "Ipanema" but I don't think it's the same as your coat.
Interesting design, with the external pleating to shape it - I think those are called cartridge pleats.
It looks like it was relined at some point? The stitches on the size and care tag are inverted. Does the handwriting say "chenette"? Interested to hear what others say on this.
Such an interesting design! I don't think I've ever seen a coat like that, but it makes me think of the 1980s most of all. However what @poisson_rouge said about Blin & Blin would indicate this is from the 1970s. The sewn-in care tag requirement dates from 1972 in the US.
Blin et Blin was a textile manufacturer so I can totally see if another company which had purchased a supply before the closure created the coat later
There is quite a bit of info on Blin et Blin here https://books.openedition.org/irhis/1979?lang=en and an entire book here though the book is in French https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3336454x/f13.item
From what I can see, it says Chincilla on the label. The lining has been repaired in parts, but it also appears to have a design on it, which is really hard to capture in a photograph..
