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Dating an antique dress

Discussion in 'PUBLIC Vintage Fashion - Ask Questions Get Answers' started by acceber, Sep 5, 2020.

  1. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    I would also appreciate some confirmation I have it put together right. The dress is two pieces. Each piece has a sleeve. The one piece is smaller and the other is larger. The larger piece has a hook. I was told they were “dress parts” like it was missing a lot to it but I’m thinking it might not! So... any idea as to its age and if I have it put together right? The dress is net with glass beads all over it.

    Here are the two pieces. There is a blue arrow pointing to the only hook it has.
    CD67F864-2D41-4038-8496-2E772249493B.jpeg C1137408-57B6-4B8D-A6F2-FD0ADC7FA04D.jpeg

    Here it is on a dress form, displayed over a white nightgown for contrast.

    0751FDD1-83F5-4D35-8E40-BAF41565D74C.jpeg EF8F4DE6-4022-4C01-91F4-93675EDF8E11.jpeg 8B04DC36-18A0-4967-A1E9-9B388A3DEB45.jpeg

    I have the larger piece wrapped around it in the front and back, and closed at the waist with that one hook. Here is the area where I have it hooked.

    E4431FB9-9A7A-4911-A0D8-8E1F602A1036.jpeg DA2C2E28-8A9D-4F68-8238-29A8F2B326DB.jpeg

    I think it can’t be right because nothing is holding the smaller side in place. It works on the dress form but how would you move around wearing it? Thank you for any input.
     
  2. denisebrain

    denisebrain VFG Vice President Staff Member VFG Past President

    This seems ingenious! I believe there would be another hook holding the small side to the larger side, so it would wrap and fasten in front and in back, with enough overlap to make it wearable.
     
  3. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    I don’t know. The smaller side is just straight down, and not enough to wrap around anything. It’s the oddest thing. The larger side is large enough and with indications that it’s supposed to wrap around, and there is enough of it to wrap around in the front and back so that it meets at the waist. It took me a bit to figure that much out. Here are pictures of the hook, the point in the fabric that the hook meets up with and how it looks hooked together. I think this part must be right. I just can’t figure out how that smaller side works.

    E7F28E1B-F410-4203-ADFC-25F86B815CBB.jpeg ECCBB59B-3E85-4FCB-9D3D-D2C4396D1851.jpeg A4BCE546-5467-486B-8E84-1EEC822D49DF.jpeg
     
  4. Rue_de_la_Paix

    Rue_de_la_Paix VFG Member

    What a beautiful and interesting garment! My first thought, and this is just a guess, is this is from around 1911-1912. Possibly Paris couture or derived from a Paris design (Poiret or Redfern for example) . There was a style for wrapping, layering, overlapping, etc. sheer silks and beaded net over dresses at that time. It would have had a dress worn underneath (as we know), a narrow column style of light or dark silk satin or other rich silk.

    As it is rather unusual, this is just a guess on my part.
     
    acceber and Vinclothes like this.
  5. Midge

    Midge Super Moderator Staff Member

    Beautiful! I was thinking about the same thing era-wise as Barbara. I agree, in all practicality, I would want the smaller piece to fasten somehow to the other one in order to stay in place... maybe whatever it was is gone, or something temporary like a decorative pin or so was used? I don't have experience with the construction or how to wear something of that era though.
     
  6. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    How interesting! Especially since I bought it from someone who discovered it in the bottom of a sewing basket that belonged to a little old lady in the town of Jurançon. The seller told me it probably came from Pau which Jurancon is on the outskirts of. Very wealthy royal city in its day, as is a lot of the area. I imagined that the little old lady wore it, once upon a time, and it was in her sewing basket because it needs mending under one arm. Maybe she never got around to doing it and it sat in there for years and years. Anyway, it definitely came from France. I thought it looked a little Edwardian too.
     
    denisebrain likes this.
  7. poppysvintageclothing

    poppysvintageclothing VFG Board Member Staff Member VFG Past President

    What a lovely piece...that was my reaction when I saw it - the teens era.
     
  8. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    I went on google and found this Edwardian era dress that is said to be of 2 pieces. I wonder if mine had some sort of sash around the waist, in addition to the obviously missing underdress.

    DDF404F7-0895-4B4A-AF55-D95CB55AC69C.jpeg 7AF90178-E23C-4A83-9124-AB610DD4CDB3.jpeg
     
  9. Vinclothes

    Vinclothes Alumni +

    Yes, you may be right. I kept thinking there was a missing piece.
    Marian
     
  10. pastperfect2

    pastperfect2 Alumni +

    a wide sash would look right, I think. And maybe a waist stay tape on the under piece to control it while adding the upper dress and sash? Something the sash would cover?
     
  11. Rue_de_la_Paix

    Rue_de_la_Paix VFG Member


    Did they give the dress a date? It looks right on the edge of Edwardian, and sure is beautiful!
     
  12. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

    Yes, the search that resulted in that dress came back to a post on Pinterest. It said “Paquin evening gown, Paris, winter 1911.” I had to search for that specifically to find a picture of the front of the dress. Not quite like mine but it does seem to have a small size piece on one side, attached somehow.
     
  13. acceber

    acceber VFG Member

  14. Linn

    Linn Super Moderator Staff Member VFG Past President

    What a lovely dress - and wonderful information (and detective work) from everyone!!!!
     

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