Dating suit

[Vintagiality]

Hi all,

I am wondering about a date on this suit. It belonged to a friend of my grandmother which she swore she wore in the 40s in Europe. The zipper doesn't seem right to me for that period but I suppose it could have been replaced later. Thoughts?

Thank you
Victoria

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

It doesn't look like 1940s to me. The zipper is 1960s 70 era.
Could it be a 40s style from the 1970s? Is the jacket lined?

 

[Jonathan]

I agree, it looks early-mid 70s to me when there was a 40's revival influencing fashions.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

The fabric looks 1970s also.

 

[Vintagiality]

I know for a fact it’s earlier than the 70s because my grandmother has a photo with her friend wearing it dating back to either ‘63 or ‘64 but I had doubts about it being 40s so I think it probably is from the 60s

 

[Jonathan]

Would love to see a copy of the pic of her friend wearing it -- the collar is VERY wide for the early 60s

 

[Vintagiality]

I am trying to get a digital copy since it’s an old photograph. Grandma is convinced it was in the early 60s but I suppose being 94 her memory may not be as accurate.

I forgot to mention that neither the skirt nor suit are lined. Does that make a difference when dating it?

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Yes, one would expect a suit from the 1940s to be lined, especially the skirt. The skirt looks to have been shortened? It hangs a bit oddly. The fabric looks like that rayon poly fabric that was popular in the 1970s, made to imitate the look of linen. It often would get little pills which I think I can see on the surface of the fabric? Hard to tell without an extreme close up.

Can you snip a tiny bit of fabric from the inner seam allowance and do a burn test?

Photos are often not the best clue, unless you can date them perfectly accurately and be 100% sure the garment is the same one in the photo. Original owner's memories can often be blurry after time. It happens a lot.

 

[Vintagiality]

Thank you all. I tried the burn test but I am really not good at it. Besides finding out it's not self extinguishing, the rest I have no idea. The smell had nothing specific to it like the ones listed in the chart in the resource, maybe paper at best. The fire was pretty large from such a small piece (1/2") and it had black smoke. I had to extinguish it under water so not sure what the ash would have been like but the remaining piece is harder than not. So maybe rayon, maybe acetate which seems consistent with a later period.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Good try, Victoria. If the ash is hard, it is a synthetic or synthetic blend.

 

[Jonathan]

Probably a blend, which makes things complicated....