Dating beaded dress

Hello! I have this dress that has symmetrical glass-beaded designs on both sides, a waistline that sits below the natural waist (depending on the height of the person wearing it, it might be a drop waist), and snap closures at the side. It has a beaded belt which looks like someone has maybe sewn higher on the dress than it originally was (it is sewn into a beaded sphere). It also has snaps on one shoulder, which look to have been clumsily added later, perhaps so the dress could fit over the much too large plastic hanging dress form on which I found it. Furthermore, it has several layers of mostly shredded lining in a soft and light material starting at the waistband. Oddly, someone has safetypinned loops of fabric into the waistband as well.

I am wondering if this dress could be 20s or possibly 60s, or even a reproduction. I know I can't date based on condition, but it has no holes or signs of wear beyond some missing beads and the torn lining. The beading designs seem unique, as I could not find any similar designs in all my searches. There is no tag or label in the dress. I am also wondering about the pinned strips of fabric. What could that possibly be? Thank you in advance for your help!

The photos show:
1. Dress front
2. Dress front
3. Dress back
4. Dress back
5. Beading detail
6. Belt detail
7. Backside of hem detail
8. Shoulder detail with snaps
9. Side snaps
10. Other shoulder without snaps
11. Lining
12. Loops of fabric pinned into the waistline
13. Snaps in torn lining

 

Beautiful. Looks 20s to me.

 

Yes, 1920s. And yes, beautiful.

 

Thanks for the input!

 

Thank you!

 

I am late in commenting, but I have been thinking about those inside loops. I wonder if they could have somehow have been connected to panniers. Early in the 1920's, there was a short period where the side skirts on dresses had interior fullness to give a wider silhouette at the hips.
Marian

 

And I am late in replying to you, but after I just read about panniers and saw some examples, I think that could be possible. The dress widens at the hips, which was partly what was confusing me about dating it. Thanks so much!

 

Thank you! It is certainly wider at the hips, so that seems a plausible explanation.

 

The belt doesn't look original to the dress to me - the beads don't match, and it looks too wide for that dress. The loops may have been sewn into the waist seam to hang the dress, taking some of the weight off the shoulders from the heavy beads. Try looping them onto a hanger and see if that works. I suspect it will -- It doesn't look to me like the kind of dress that had paniers - they are usually made of chiffon, lace or taffeta and have small amounts of beadwork, if any.

 

I had forgotten about those waist hanging loops! You don't run across them very often. Jonathan to the rescue.
Marian

 

It makes sense that the belt isn't original to the dress - although it's made of the same material and the clear glass beads match, the greenish ones seem off. As I mentioned, it is stitched in the wrong place, so I just removed it (it was only barely attached in three places so I could do that without causing damage) and the dress looks so much better with the natural drop waist visible. I tried positioning the dress with a hangar via the loops, and while the loops extend about six inches beyond the shoulders when hung, they would allievate some of the weight from the bottom. Thanks so much!