Dating & Naming this very long outfit

Anybody know where this came from

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billy

billy

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Hello all, this is my first post here. My name is Billy and I have been buying vintage clothing for the past 12 years. This is something I have never seen before, it's one piece and has that vintage smell, it ties by the waist area or a little above, the bottom end piece has elastic and seems like it would go under your legs up to your chest. I would like to know what it's called and maybe what era.

Thank You
 

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I haven't seen anything like this either, and I agree with Jonathan that it doesn't look Western.

Can you please clarify what's going on with it? It looks like a very long short sleeved jacket, with an opening that joins near the bottom and then the hem is gathered up with elastic on one side? Is the bottom of the skirt folded up on the first pic, so if it was hanging down, the elasticated part would be on the front?

The only thing I can think of is some ceremonial robe for a baby, ala christening - so the child is held but the skirt hangs down, or a very specific costume for some performance

Can you tell us any more about it? eg, what fabric it's made of? Despite the mustiness, it doesn't look very old to me - '60s or '80s I'm thinking.
 
Hi Circa Vintage, this was bought at a thrift store that I frequent often. The lady who runs the shop told me that an elderly American lady donated it.
It is for sure vintage from the smell I am used to smelling, The very bottom is embroidered and waist or chest piece has the elastic. The fabric feels kind of like polyester & silk, a soft feel. It measures 9 feet 4 inches, I don't think it's to hold a baby.
 

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Jonathan, India and Pakistan clothing is way off. I am leaning more towards Arabian clothing but could be wrong. I showed this to a lady who owns an antique store and she said she has never seen anything like it in her 71 years of life. It for sure has some age to it, maybe 50's 60's.
 
Is the bottom elasticized? If so, maybe it is supposed to double somehow. Maybe it is supposed to be strapless dress under a short sleeve jacket type of look. Try pulling the bottom up through the middle and see if it makes sense. It would create a slight bubble hem look with the embroidered part that you see at the bottom at the bust.
 
Yes Amber, the bottom is elastic and i believe it goes under the legs and bottom goes around the chest but I still can't decide what it is.
 
Looks like some disco 70s thing to me made in India for export to the West. That silver embroidery is lurex and if it has elastic in it then its not that old.
 
The fabric looks like polyester jersey, so with the lurex trim it can't be earlier that late '60s at best, but I see '70s too.

Billy, I'm not sure what you mean by "vintage" (there's a lot of differing opinions from that one) but the smell is unwashed clothes that haven't been touched for a while, so dust and probably mildew/mold. If you wash and air it, it will go away.

Do you have any more measurements for us eg bust? Can you try it on someone or a mannequin to see how it might work? It's hard for us to get a sense of size and proportion just lying on the ground like that.
 
I think you were insulted by my suggesting it was made in India. My observation is based on the Mughal style of embroidery that is found right across the Islamic world from Turkey to Bangladesh. However, the Middle East exports very little clothing made with traditional embroidery styles. India and Pakistan were huge manufacturers and exporters of clothing of traditionally styled and/or embroidered clothes, especially from the late 1960s to early 1980s.
 
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i've never seen anything like this either. i've looked at all of your photos multiple times now and still am having trouble making sense of the bottom third. the top 2/3rds are easy to understand.

in your first photo, where the decorative white embroidery down either side of the opening ends, there are two narrow white strips that look like elastic that's attached to that strange bottom part with the opening. do i have that right?

i've considered the idea that it's so long because it's a train, but then the elasticized opening doesn't make sense to me.

i agree it's not that old, because of the fabric and the elastic. the age of the donator doesn't necessarily mean anything as far as the age of your garment. she could have bought it at any time, or it been given to her. who knows? i'm tending to 70s also, because of the silky poly fabric and the elastic, and the construction (the kinds of ties it has at the empire waist, interior construction of the weird elasticized thing at the bottom).
 
WOW, I was on a mini vacation and no computer. Got back about 2 hours ago and all the replies, wow. This forum is awesome and I am so glad I found it and you members are replying to me, this is so cool. Thank You Jonathan, Circa Vintage, Amber, Melanie, Joan and Mary Jane, all your comments are making me think. Thanks so much to all of you....
 
I don't have anybody that will try it on here where I just moved to. I'll try and find somebody that will model it for me, might be kind of hard though since I don't know any females here that would fit it.
 
Billy you could try hanging it on a washing line and pegging the waist together where you think it would fold up to, and tying the tie.
 
Melanie, good day. I just took the base legs off my dress body form and hung it on the wall, here are 2 pics of it now, I think this is how it goes.
 

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that looks right on your mannequin, but the mystery part isn't visible except what you can see around the neckline, so i still don't know what's going on.
 
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