COMPLETELY INSANE thrift store run

plousia

plousia

Registered Guest
Wow, I just had the most insane thrift store shop ever.
  1. Handmade blouse that I think is 50s
  2. 40s suit jacket in perfect condition
  3. 50s black wool pencil skirt
  4. 60s white and gold beaded bag in perfect condition with pair of matching white lace gloves
  5. Complete 40s or 50s silk Chinese pajama set in very good condition
And a couple other things not worth mentioning.

Insanity. Sometimes you find absolutely nothing and then sometimes...today happens.
 
plousia said:
Wow, I just had the most insane thrift store shop ever.
  1. Handmade blouse that I think is 50s
  2. 40s suit jacket in perfect condition
  3. 50s black wool pencil skirt
  4. 60s white and gold beaded bag in perfect condition with pair of matching white lace gloves
  5. Complete 40s or 50s silk Chinese pajama set in very good condition
And a couple other things not worth mentioning.

Insanity. Sometimes you find absolutely nothing and then sometimes...today happens.
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I think that's what makes selling vintage so exciting, you just never know what you will find, or when! I never get tired of the thrill of searching and researching, in fact it just seems to get better and better... the more I learn, the more I know to look out for and perhaps things I wouldn't have known about years ago, no longer get missed. It's addictive :)
Well done on your finds, I love the sound of the 40s/50s Chinese pyjama set... :clapping: (I'd love to see some photos, when you've had a chance to take some).
 
Exactly! You've described it perfectly.

I like selling vintage because all the exciting things I used to have to pass up because they didn't fit or weren't quite my style, now go home with me :D

I will post pics once I've processed and shot all of these things, probably next week.
 
Ok I'll post them once I've shot everything!

I have to add that the particular thrift store where I found most of this haul has been amazing. I have found three 50s dresses there, two at once; and once a 40s suit jacket and 50s wool plaid circle skirt at the same time. All in the last few months. They also consistently have nice vintage evening bags.

Of course sometimes I go and there's nothing, but as a few of you have said, the uncertainty is what makes it exciting.
 
OK, as promised, here are the photos of last Saturday's finds. In order, the Chinese silk pajama set, 40s jacket, 50s (? I think) blouse, 50s embroidered wool skirt, and 60s bag/gloves.

The blouse puzzles me a bit. I think it's 50s but it looks so perfect. It is a synthetic plisse so I guess that would put it in the last part of the decade, if it is 50s. But if anyone has any other opinions, they're welcome.

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No, jacket has no labels. Is there something that makes you think it might be newer?

I dated it to 40s based on general style, presence of shoulder pads, material (wool crepe), button style (buttons are quite similar to those on another 40s jacket I have).

Could post more photos of it if that's helpful.
 
i don't know....the narrow collar, the body proportions look more 50s than 40s to me. Typically, when i see a 40s jacket, i think, yep, thats 40s! but yours just doesn't have those same style components (imho). i'm curious as to what others think...
 
anothertimevintageapparel said:
I too think later. Most 1940s jackets had rayon crepe lining, even the 50s.
Could it be even later, as in the 80s?
Without seeing it in person, it is hard to tell.
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It really doesn't seem 80s to me, but I'll look it over to see if I can find any more clues. I'll also see if I can take a modelled photo of it tomorrow if that might help. It may not show well on the dress form, especially as it's a rather large size.
 
So curiosity got the best of me and I worked one shoulder pad out through a gap in the handsewing of the lining bottom. Foam! Does that definitively put it in the 80s? I have a 50s beaded sweater (or at least sold to me as 50s, could be 60s I guess) that has shoulder pads that appear to be foam from what I can tell.

Also did a burn test of the lining which appears to confirm it as some kind of synthetic; it self-extinguished pretty rapidly, but didn't really melt, basically kept its shape, so I guess it's not acetate. Not sure what it is, burn tests are hard to interpret sometimes.
 

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plousia said:
So curiosity got the best of me and I worked one shoulder pad out through a gap in the handsewing of the lining bottom. Foam! Does that definitively put it in the 80s? I have a 50s beaded sweater (or at least sold to me as 50s, could be 60s I guess) that has shoulder pads that appear to be foam from what I can tell.

Also did a burn test of the lining which appears to confirm it as some kind of synthetic; it self-extinguished pretty rapidly, but didn't really melt, basically kept its shape, so I guess it's not acetate. Not sure what it is, burn tests are hard to interpret sometimes.
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Hi, I found this thread with some really useful info on shoulder pads and it seams the earlier ones were filled with padding such as felt or cotton batting rather than foam... so it seems this dates the jacket to about 1980s/90s
https://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/shoulder-pads.27972/

Some lovely items, the floral blouse is pretty. I must admit my first thought when I saw it was 80s, in a retro style as it reminds me of a blouse I have by Peepers which is a similar cut with a bold floral pattern. It could be earlier, hard to tell, others may be more knowledgeable than me on that.

I don't think the Chinese suit is as early as the 1940s/50s. I appreciate they can be a little hard to date as the style is traditional, but my first thought when I saw it was more the 90s or later. I was looking online to find some other examples before replying, and I came across your listing on Etsy, the photos of the labels confirmed what I thought, I'm pretty sure an early suit would not say 'made in China' - I think those style of labels were introduced in about the 90s. There are earlier labels with China, that were made for the tourist market, but the ones I've seen often have where the item was actually made in China as well, and look different to this one.
 
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Shusteroo Vintage said:
Hi, I found this thread with some really useful info on shoulder pads and it seams the earlier ones were filled with padding such as felt or cotton batting rather than foam... so it seems this dates the jacket to about 1980s/90s
https://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/shoulder-pads.27972/
Click to expand...

Agreed, that seems to be the case.

Shusteroo Vintage said:
Some lovely items, the floral blouse is pretty. I must admit my first thought when I saw it was 80s, in a retro style as it reminds me of a blouse I have by Peepers which is a similar cut with a bold floral pattern. It could be earlier, hard to tell on that, others may be more knowledgeable that me on that.
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Yes, I do know what you mean, I had doubts about that blouse as well. It's hard to tell because it's handmade. It is a synthetic, which could weigh in favour of it being later. The interior construction and some of the style elements weigh toward earlier for me. For example, it seems like the 80s tended to do florals on a black background, whereas the 50s seemed to usually do white backgrounds. Not a hard and fast rule I'm sure. It has that circular back interior neck piece I've often seen in 50s dresses, and unfinished interior seams. Zigzag stitching but no serging. But it is in such good condition it makes me wonder.

Shusteroo Vintage said:
I don't think the Chinese suit is as early as the 1940s/50s. I appreciate they can be a little hard to date as the style is traditional, but my first thought when I saw it was more the 90s or later. I was looking online to find some other examples before replying, and I came across your listing on Etsy, the photos of the labels confirmed what I thought, I'm pretty sure an early suit would not say 'made in China' - I think those style of labels were introduced in about the 90s. There are earlier items that were made for the tourist market with labels, but the ones I've seen often seem to have where the item is made in China and look different to this one.
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I did find a couple of others dated to 40s with that exact label type. The later Chinese garments I've seen don't have that style of label; I've never seen it before, actually. The later ones have letter sizing rather than number sizing. The snaps look like an older style, matte metal rather than shiny. The top has pinked seams and the pants have French seams (although the top's shoulder seams are serged, confusingly). The pants have snaps down the left side closure with buttons at the top, something I usually associate with older garments. The pants particularly are the same as several I found online dated to the 40s. And it just "feels" older, although that's subjective of course.

I don't know, dating vintage is hard and confusing! I appreciate your feedback as I'm still learning. I don't like to bother the forum all the time so do research by searching online, but it's obviously not foolproof.
 
I understand completely! I'm still learning all the time too... and it's no bother, as when questions are asked it can help everyone. I don't think anyone can know everything about everything, you just learn as you go... sometimes from others knowledge, other times from your own mistakes. That's why the VFG is so wonderful, a pool of people who all love vintage and can help on areas they may know about or give suggestions from their own experience.

It can be difficult to date traditional style clothing. The only thing with others listing items with the same label and selling them as 40s , doesn't mean they are genuinely from that era - and it can have a snowball effect, once a few people have incorrectly stated something, others take it as fact...

I could be wrong too... could you post an image of the label and hopefully others can weigh in with their thoughts?
 
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