Dating clothes from estate. 40's??

L

lipsticklillie

Registered Guest
Dating clothes from estate. 40\'s??

I just acquired some clothing from an estate and I have no idea what year it's from. There are no tags & they look handmade but well done. The dress is thin stretchy polyester. I'm sorry the photos are not that great! Thank you to anyone that can help. I have a few more things in the wash also that I may post later.



http://s1116.photobucket.com/albums/k564/rjtal29/
 
Yes, stretchy polyester usually means '70s. Agree with Maggie's datings.

As an aside, I find that estates rarely have clothes from the '40s: an adult then would be in her 90s now - I often ask how old the lady was/is, or when she was born because it will give an indication of the age of her garments - she would have to be in her 90s and also someone who didn't move house often and kept everything. Those people are rarer than I would like, and I find that the current phase of estates has mostly clothes from the '60s-80s.

I get most of my '40s clothes from private collectors.

Nicole
 
Thank you Nicole and Maggie for your expertise! I really appreciate it! Actually, some of the clothes did come from a lady in her 90's and that's why I was unsure. The clothing isn't anything amazing but it was a different style that I hadn't really seen before and very few things had tags. She may have made them herself, I don't really know the history. One of the shirts is all lace and the other ones are short tops as shown in the photos, but they are not polyester. They just didn't look like typical 70's style to me. Oh well, that's why I love this forum!
 
Also, when you go to a sale like this? it is amazing what some of the relatives will spill about their dearly departed...i usually look for someone standing near the cashier with their arms crossed and a somewhat dazed look on their face...clearly not shopping, just attending...or i've even asked the auctioneers/cashiers if they could point out a family member, and asked if they think they'd mind being asked a few questions concerning provenance.

often times, the relative is happy to share information, or at least to have someone to chat with for a while. :)
 
I too find that what is in the home is often dependent on when the family moved, and find it helpful to talk with family members. My grandparents built their dream ranch in 1969, where my grandmother still lives. When she opened her closet and let me take anything I wanted, the earliest pieces I found were mid-to-late 1960's pieces. She grew up extremely poor in a cotton-farming family in the Deep South. Her first store-bought dress was a hand-me-down from a cousin when she was 17 or 18. So from the time she got her first job during the war through the 1950's (when she was my age AND size), she spent lots of money on all store-bought clothing for herself. But sadly, I can't find any of it - she can't remember what she did with it all, but now that I've had more experience in estates, I know now that it was disposed of before their last move... :(
 
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