Black and gold lame evening dress date help please

[Arabella's Treasures]

I am not convinced this is 1920's as my client believes, as the style seems wrong. The snappers down the side seem to me to be a later addition and it has a handwritten label inside at the back. So 1930's? Or later?

Your advice please

Ps sorry about the horizontal photos, my ipad doesn't want to play ball today

 

[Pinkcoke]

It would be good to know what the lame was made of but the cut of the front and back, together with the length suggest 1930's to me. The label suggests it was dyed black from a paler colour originally. I think the dye job may be making it look later, as it is a bit bold for this style of dress in this era.

 

[Arabella's Treasures]

Thank you Melanie, I can't say what material exactly but it has a silky backing and seems synthetic.

 

[Pinkcoke]

Hmm if you think the material is synthetic it could be much later - like 70's does 30's from a vintage pattern but it needs to be handled really. I do recognise the wide waistband shape from a 1930s/40's dress I have but the super low back is more of the 30's trend I think. If it were 70's in a modern, rather than retro, style, I'd expect the front to be lower than the back! I don't think it's 1920's though.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Hi,

Lovely dress with great style. Definitely not 1920s. It has a mid to late 1930s style to it. I think the large bold pattern is fine for later 1930s, it has a sort of Deco tribal exotica appeal to it. The key is the material's fiber content. In your photos, the gold threads look more like Lurex (modern) than lame', to me. Snip off some of the gold threads from the seam allowance and see what happens. If it melts, its likely Lurex or a similar modern synthetic metallic coating. Do a burn test on the black material also. Those will be your best clues.

If it is a 1970s or other era dress made in the 1930s style, and is a synthetic fabric, I would think it would be very difficult to dye it black from another color. Synthetics do not, asa rule, take dyes as well as natural fibers, and with black it can be very hard to get a true color.....you often wind up with purple shading. Or perhaps it was already black or gray and was re-dyed to cover imperfections or fading.

Since we cannot see it in person, maybe you can show us a close up of the gold threads.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I'm seeing this on my iPhone's small screen but it looks good for very late '30s to me. The fabric is probably silk lame'.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

It looks 30s to me as well.

 

[Arabella's Treasures]

How can I forget the burn test!! No melting on the thread or fabric. Some rusting on the threading. Here are some closer photos.