Dating "Sakelaridis" Batiste Dress

[AngAllen]

Hello lovely people! I am stumped about dating this dress I rescued from a bin at the back of an antique store today. As per the photos, it is a light pink and white cotton dress, and it is quite long as I am 6' tall and it falls about four inches below the knee. I think it might be 1970s, but I don't know. Details include:

Zipper: a metal rectangular side zipper, marked "CONMAR" on one side and "USA" on the other. It is a hidden zipper with a strip of fabric covering it. From my brief research, it appears that Conmar zippers were in use from the late 1930s through the 1980s.

Label/material: the label reads "This frock is made of 'Sakelaridis' Batiste" and under that "Woven & Printed in Switzerland." There is no garment care label. Sakellaridis is a type of cotton.

-The dress is unlined and thin/see-through. There are no serge seams. I don't know enough about seams to identify the type.

-There is a sewn-in thick ribbon that ties the dress from behind. I'm not sure if it is original to the dress - to me it looks hand-sewn and it doesn't quite match. There are also a series of six small back buttons which fasten at the top of the dress and leave a keyhole opening in the back.

I would appreciate any information you can offer, anything from button and seam type to knowledge of other Sakelaridis Batiste dresses, which I can't seem to find. Thank you!!

 

[bycin]

I think it might be 1980s... I think this because of the sleeves and keyhole back. I'm not sure if I'd starting dating with the zipper except the placement at side would indicate earlier. A little confusing.

What do the seams look like?

 

[thespectrum]

I think it might be 1980s... I think this because of the sleeves and keyhole back. I'm not sure if I'd starting dating with the zipper except the placement at side would indicate earlier. A little confusing.

What do the seams look like?

I think it's older than that, from the late 1930s into the 1940s.

 

[Midge]

Agree, it looks older - also the label. I tried googling Sakelaridis but didn't get far. Apparently it's a type of cotton, grown from a specific cotton plant. So no maker's name. But the Swiss textile industry would still have been thriving then (well it still exists, but nowadays it's mostly specialised in specialty fabrics and not anything as "everyday" as cotton -which again points to it being older).

 

[Pinkcoke]

That style of rectangular zipper tag was mostly in use 1940s-50's. It does look a little later than the dress to me but zippers do get replaced. You can look closely at the thread and stitching around it to see if it matches the rest of the dress or could be a later fix.
I wonder if it had a popper fastening, which was more common in the 1930s-early 40's and this was later changed to a zip in the 50s/60's. The side fastening may not have been there at all when it was made either - a lot of 30s/40s dresses slip on and only fasten at the back of the neck or with ties like you mention, but this requires some skill and quite a small chest to get into! so they did get adapted. Overall I think I would settle for 1940's.

 

[The Vintage Vendeuse]

The only mention I happened across, from:
Fibre & Fabric: A Record of American Textile Industries in the Cotton and Woolen Trade, Volume 70
July 21, 1922:

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

That is a very sweet and pretty dress. How great to find that in an antique store.

I see a lot of late 1930s to very early 1940s in the style, however the length seems much to long for it to be from that time period. From what you describe, it would hit mid calf on the average women. That places it earlier, mid 1930s perhaps.

 

[bycin]

I can see that the style is earlier but I'm not yet convinced 100% that this is from that style's era. I'd maybe have to hold it, definitely see the seams, the finishing work.

Why the confusion is there was, in the 1980s, a revival of very pretty, simple cotton batiste and lace-edged dresses. They were so pretty and the fabric of an older era but not, as were the styles. The fabric were delicious batistes which was refreshing after so many cotton/poly blends.

This is taking me there. I know you all think I'm daft. lol

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

I am definitely seeing an older dress as well, more likely 30s. The unusual fabric, the label, the type of lace that is being used all of these things point it to me as being 30s or early 40s. Also the fact that the label reads "frock", that term was not being used in later eras.

 

[AngAllen]

Wow, thank you all so much for your comments! One of the main reasons I am stumped about this dress is because, much as bycin notes, my mother has a dress from the early 1980s that has a similar cut. The keyhole back also seems quite large for the 1930s/40s. I have attached (probably an excessive amount of) photos of the seams. They are (excuse my lack of technical terminology):

1. The waistline of the dress
2. A full inner view of the zipper
3. Inner sleeve
4. Outer sleeve ruching
5, 6, and 7. Various inner zipper views. The zipper was sewn with a ribbon behind one side.
8 and 9: The hem
10. A better view of the keyhole back - I have only buttoned the top button, but there are two button below that one, and then a gap of 1.5 inches, and then three more buttons, and another gap of three inches.

Again, thanks so much for all your helpful comments!

 

[AngAllen]

I can see that the style is earlier but I'm not yet convinced 100% that this is from that style's era. I'd maybe have to hold it, definitely see the seams, the finishing work.

Why the confusion is there was, in the 1980s, a revival of very pretty, simple cotton batiste and lace-edged dresses. They were so pretty and the fabric of an older era but not, as were the styles. The fabric were delicious batistes which was refreshing after so many cotton/poly blends.

This is taking me there. I know you all think I'm daft. lol

Thanks - above, I posted some photos of the seams. Apologies that it took me so long to do so.

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

Very sweet dress. I also see late 30s early 40s.

 

[bycin]

Ok. I say early 40s. Thanks so much for the additional photos. Really helped!

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

What keeps me from dating it to the late 30 or 1940s is the length. Unless it has been shortened from a full length dress, which I suppose is a possibility. But it does not strike me as a full length dress that has been shortened. So if that is the original length, it is an unusual length for WWII era. I still see it as earlier in the 30s. I also agree with MJ about the term "frock".

AngAllen, is 6 feet tall and the dress comes 4 inches below her knees. So that places it mid calf on the average woman.

In the silhouette of the waist area which we can see in the shots where it is held to the light, and the close ups of the sleeves, the pintucks and detailing do look older, like 1930s to me. I have not seen RTW dresses from the 1980s with that much detail. And while the fabric could be a revival, that tiny sweet pattern is SO 1930s to me.

I adore that dress, it is really is too adorable for words!