dating belt with kissing kids motif on patent plastic

Pinkcoke

Pinkcoke

Alumni
Don't know where to begin with this; the materials say 80's to me - that and the fact it currently fits as a waist belt - do you think this is original or has it been cut down?

however the traditional woven design and colours use suggest it may be an older fashion throwback. I haven't read about any use of these european designs in fashion yet so I would appreciate your help with them. I know the heart motif is something I've seen used in Romanian/Hungarian textiles. But the kissing kids have clogs (dutch?) and austrian looking hats.


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Thanks, GoldenAge ;). I'd say the belt is either from Germany or Austria, based on the hats the two figures are wearing, and the "lederhosen" of the boy - that does not exist in Swiss traditional dress, but you'd find that in Bavaria or in certain parts of Austria (they have a lot of different traditional costumes depending on the region). I have seen that heart with the two birds on it motif before, but couldn't say where. I do somehow associate it with the whole "traditional" look. So I don't think these two figures are Heidi and Peter.

There is a kind of fashion style that has been around here the last maybe 25 years (at least what I remember) that's called the "dirndl" or "landhaus" look, borrowing from Bavarian and similar Austrian traditional styles, which would also feature things like traditional-inspired accessories to be worn with "normal" clothes. I would think this belt probably corresponds with that kind of thing. Every few years this thing has been touted as a "trend" here, but I've mostly seen these things in mail-order catalogs.

10-15 years ago, there was a Swiss company, Michel Jordi, that was very popular here. I think they started with watches that had traditional-style elements on the watchbands, and that sort of extended to other things - mostly accesories like shoes, bags etc. Suddenly that stuff was everywhere, but the trend died down again and now nobody would want to be caught dead in them. I guess it was a bit of an overkill. Their motifs though were more floral, dominated by edelweiss, gentian etc.

Karin
 
Hi,

I cannot help with the date, as it looks more on the recent side which is not my forte'. I can say that the hats are Tyrolean, and clothing looks Tyrolean. Of course, Tyrol and Swiss are basically the same thing (my apologies to either side).

B
 
I have a belt that is of the same materials and motif, except the belt buckle on mine is brass.

I purchased it from a lady who remembered wearing it in the early to mid 70's, when she was a teenager (All of the items I purchased from her were from that period).

Something about mine seems a bit older than yours though. Perhaps mine is just more worn.
 
Definitely an eastern european motif. being of that background i've seen a ton of this style in european folk arts and crafts. have cupboards full of embroidery like this, but your belt looks newer, i would think 80s as well. however i once had a 50s dress with a belt on it that could have passed for 80s. only because it came with the dress was i sure it was 50s.
it's a great belt!
 
thanks guys, I bought it because I thought it was cute too! but knew nothing of the origins of the design.
 
Your belt reminded me of this dead stock belting material I bought from a man who manufactured accessories in the 1960s and 70s. He told me it was from Switzerland. Mine is quite wide and is probably later than yours so I'm guessing yours is later 60s MAYBE early 70s.

I also had a cute little pouch purse when I was in high school that was made from this same type of material with the kissing boy and girl. I ordered it from an international gift catalougue around 1969. I bet I still have it. If I find it I'll post a pic.

Melody
 
That's amazing to think we have the same embroidery a continent apart! Thankyou very much for posting. Do your colours look more fluorescent in daylight too?
 
Wow, what a coincidence!

Melody, does it say anything more on the backside of the hang tag of your bag? I tried a search with the name it says on the front, but that didn't turn up anything. I just thought I'd give it a try ;).

Your unused belt material looks nice too! The women's hats with the big pompons on them are traditionally from the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in southern Germany, but I can't say much about the other figures' costumes. The floral motif thing looks more Swiss to me though ;).

Karin
 
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