Dating a Bed Jacket

[gelliot]

Hello! I found this lovely silk satin (or at least that’s what I think the fabric is) bed jacket and I’m having trouble dating it. There are no tags of any kind- it looks handmade to me, and maybe 1940’s? The blue stitching looks irregular which made me think it was handmade... but I am a novice, so any insight would be so appreciated. xxoo

 

[Midge]

Giving this a *bump* and hope someone will chime in.

 

[gelliot]

Giving this a *bump* and hope someone will chime in.

That is very sweet, thank you!

 

[retro ruth]

I also think 1940s or thereabouts, could be a little earlier or later perhaps? Agree with home made. It certainly looks like satin, but only a burn test will tell you if it's silk, or rayon.

I associate that peachy colour with the 40s, and also the 30s.

 

[gelliot]

I also think 1940s or thereabouts, could be a little earlier or later perhaps? Agree with home made. It certainly looks like satin, but only a burn test will tell you if it's silk, or rayon.

I associate that peachy colour with the 40s, and also the 30s.

Thank you! My friend who saw it in person thinks it’s 30s. This helps!

 

[Linn]

I think it's '30s also. It's lovely.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

I see 30s as well. Very pretty piece, beautiful workmanship on the top. Looks like a kind of smocking / shirred work.

 

[Vintagiality]

I agree with 30s as well.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi Gelliot, you have found a very interesting piece!

It looks like silk charmeuse, the sort that was used in the 1930s for wedding dresses so it may have started out in life as a bridal gown, but your jacket appears to have been 'upcycled' in more modern times. The stitching, especially the top stitching, and white ribbon that has been applied to the openings, suggest it was adapted no earlier than the '70s (earlier than this, top-stitching was used for heavier garments like coats and workwear). If you burn-tested the white ribbon, you could determine fabric composition which would help, eg, I suspect it's a polyester ribbon which would also suggest a fairly modern updating.

I think it's an evening jacket, rather than bed jacket.

The work was done with great care, by an enthusiastic amateur. I hope that helps.

 

[gelliot]

Thank you so much, everyone!

That is interesting about it maybe being upcycled- I wondered if the smocking was added later. If it was adapted from a wedding dress, I wonder what it looked like, wow! I can tell by holding it that whoever made this piece really loved it.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Thank you so much, everyone!

That is interesting about it maybe being upcycled- I wondered if the smocking was added later. If it was adapted from a wedding dress, I wonder what it looked like, wow! I can tell by holding it that whoever made this piece really loved it.

If the smocking stitch matches the decorative running stitch around the hem as it appears, then I would say, yes, they were done at the same time.

If it did originate as a wedding dress, it would likely have been quite full, as there's a lot of width to the jacket if you spread it out.

 

[GemGem]

That stitching is beautiful, It looks similar to something called honeycomb smocking...

Honeycomb Smocking - Professor Pincushion