Dating (and identifying fur etc) Lilli Ann coat, early 60's?

Robin of Frocksley

Robin of Frocksley

Registered Guest
I almost fell over when I found this at my local salvation army (for $9.99:)) I looked through the label resource, and am feeling good about it dating to the early 60's, but would like to be certain. Also, I think the collar is sheared beaver (as it feels very much like a beaver coat I own) but I'm not sure. I am totally clueless as to what kind of wool "treatment" this is, and whether I am styling the scarf collar correctly. The fur collar has a bit of yuck on it (seen in last pic), is it okay to spot clean fur with a damp cloth? Same for the food yuck stain on one of the labels? Last, the coat has a faint mustiness (not terrible, but) and I'm wondering if I should take it to a furrier or just keeping airing it out? Any help would be fantastic!!
20160128_120811.jpg 20160128_123843.jpg 20160128_120556.jpg 20160128_121111.jpg 20160128_121438.jpg 20160128_121320.jpg
 
One last question (sorry so many!), would this be properly called a swing coat? It has no closures except at the collar. Thanks in advance!
 
It looks early 60s to me. I would not call it a swing coat style. I can't help out with the fur very much, it looks a bit like some sort of sheared lamb but I can't be certain. I would spot clean that stain. Love the "nubby" texture. In your full photo it looks like a brown with some red tones but in the close up it shows up as blue.

Forgot to add, what a nice find!
 
poppysvintageclothing said:
It looks early 60s to me. I would not call it a swing coat style. I can't help out with the fur very much, it looks a bit like some sort of sheared lamb but I can't be certain. I would spot clean that stain. Love the "nubby" texture. In your full photo it looks like a brown with some red tones but in the close up it shows up as blue.
Click to expand...
Thanks! The true color is brown with red and orange tones, but I am not good with my camera so the close up colors are off.
 
Hi there Robin, I agree with the dating, I agree that it's not a swing coat but depending on the length I might call it a 3/4 length coat, and the fur is either faux mink or sheepskin which sometimes looks like faux fur. I think more likely it is faux though and it's definitely not sheared beaver. Can you pull a few fur fibers so it's not noticeable and do a burn test or is there an area where you can see skin? Report back to advise if you see skin or if you do the burn test share whether the fibers burned, melted, fast or slow, and what they smelled like.
 
Furwise said:
Hi there Robin, I agree with the dating, I agree that it's not a swing coat but depending on the length I might call it a 3/4 length coat, and the fur is either faux mink or sheepskin which sometimes looks like faux fur. I think more likely it is faux though and it's definitely not sheared beaver. Can you pull a few fur fibers so it's not noticeable and do a burn test or is there an area where you can see skin? Report back to advise if you see skin or if you do the burn test share whether the fibers burned, melted, fast or slow, and what they smelled like.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much, Caryn! I did a burn test, as I could not find any visible skin. It burned quite fast, bubbling a bit, and smelled like burning plastic. So I am thinking you are right about it being faux. Thanks a million, your expertise is always a huge help!
 
Last edited:
Yes dear. It is faux fur as I suspected. Thank you for doing that for me to confirm. That is a lovely coat, it's going to appeal to all the Lilli Ann collectors, and also appeal to those who like the look of fur but don't wear real fur.
 
Last edited:
Yes, it was Sister Rosetta Tharpe - singing and playing the song Didn't it Rain. It was recorded in Manchester, England in 1964. The coat was not exactly the same but had some similarity especially in scarf style collar.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top