Hello everyone, first time posting here but a long time fan of the forum . I've recently acquired an interesting dress that I have a hard time dating. It's possibly custom made as there is no brand label and just one tag sewn to the seam allowance, which says it's pure silk (Reine Seide) and gives care instructions. It's German made. It has a large inverted box pleat in the middle stitched down that opens about mid-thigh. On the bodice there's a wide waistband and a shawl collar. The buttons look faintly pinkish and translucent, perhaps they're lucite? The dress has small shoulder pads and cap sleeves. It is fully lined with an elastic fabric that I can't name. The bodice seams aren't finished which suggests to me that the lining is original and not added later. There is a Prym nylon zipper in the back but I think that was added later as there are two different colour threads in the seam leading to the zipper. Also the ones that the zipper has been stitched with do not match the ones that majority of the dress had been sewn with. The print reminds me of art deco drawings of stylized flowers but I'm not sure how to describe it. The dress has been serged along the seams but there is a bit of hand finish too. It looks like maybe the dress was shortened as the hem is finished in a very non-professional way as opposed to the rest of the piece. I tried it on but it's a large size and doesn't fit me well so it didn't help much with dating it. Anyway, I'm thinking 1930s or 1940s? But if the zipper is original then would that place it in the 1960s? It's so peculiar! What do you guys think? I'd appreciate any pointers!
Late 60s - and commercially made with that care label. I agree, it looks like the hem was altered - could also have been lengthened with that hem tape being used as if to make the most of the fabric that's there. Maybe an old hemline is still detectable, if that is the case.
This is an unusual dress for it's time: for me, I see late '60s to early '70s due mainly to the label and the print. You can see it's a lovely quality silk twill and would have been expensive originally.
