Do you think this an early 1940s robe?

EndlessAlley

EndlessAlley

Alumni
"Do you think this IS an early 40s robe" (wish we could edit our titles) :)
This lovely quilted robe has several strong features shown in my reference book for robes from the early 1940s. Padded shoulders, shawl collar that narrows in back and patch pocket on right side only. Belt loops but belt was lost somewhere between here and there.

Am I missing some details here that would date it differently?
Thank you for sharing your insight.

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Very pretty. I don't see early 40's. What is the fiber content, is it a rayon satin? For some reason, I am getting a late 1940s or even early 1950's vibe from this. It looks too narrow in the "skirt" for a 40s's robe to me, and that quilted satin was so popular circa 1950s. The floral print also has a late 40's look to it (to me anyway).
 
Thanks everyone for your help. The robe does not appear to be hand made, although I see no sign of where a label might have been. No place to clip for a burn test, but yes it does look like a rayon satin. I was going through "The Complete Fashion Source Book" by John Peacock as a reference and the early 40's robes he shows do not have wide skirts. Also there was a robe with very similar rounded shawl collar that narrowed at the back of the neck as mine does.
Thank you for the archive images. I did look through them also and although most show wider skirts I did find one that was more fitted in a quilted rayon. Well I'm pleased that it's 40's or possibly 50s. Now to find a suitable sash.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?i...AAAIBAJ&pg=3943,2418783&dq=quilted-robe&hl=en
 
That is lovely, Alice. I have a quilted bed jacket in a floral print (but with a peach background), with the gathered shoulders like yours, and I've always thought it was mid to late 40s, Your collar is different, though, and the quilting is, too. Both the collar and the type of quilting look somehow "newer" to me, and I would put yours at late 40s to early 50s as well.
 
Thanks Nicole and Anne. Still very pleased to have found such a lovely dressing gown from the 40's/50's. To improve my ID skills, I need to find a vintage shop to work in so I can see & handle more vintage pieces! Or find a relevant internship program.:USETHUMBUP:
 
Alice, sometimes dating an item just comes down to how it looks to your eye and feels to your hands--regardless of reference materials. And if you had, e.g., simply listed this as a "circa 1940s" robe, you would have been fine--I sometimes think we're more worried about an "exact" date than customers are!

Sometimes an item looks much older than it is, and vice versa. That's often when simple intuition kicks in. It's sure not an exact science! There are folks here who can date an item to within a couple of years--I don't think I'll ever be able to do that (except maybe for the late 60s & early 70s things I wore as a somewhat-fashion-conscious teen), but I figure if I can get the decade or the transition of decades right, and sometimes narrow it down to about a 5-year period, I'm doing OK, and giving buyers what they want to know. Even when I'm almost 100% positive of an item to within a couple of years, I won't state it as an absolute because I could very well be wrong. And sometimes one dates something by what one "thinks" it should be (for example, like "Oh, it's a halter dress, it must be 70s"), even if the style, construction, or something else says otherwise. I've done that before and been so wrong.... It's never gonna be an ultra-precise thing!
 
You all impress me with how much knowledge you have on vintage! Thank you Anne for sharing that with me. It makes me feel better about being a novice. I've always wanted to hurry along the learning curve.
 
As I said to Alice, I'm a bit sad it won't be here in time for me to pretend I'm Lana Turner on Christmas morning...although, I can always be Veronica Lake on New Year's Day! Just a short version, with sticky uppy bed hair and a slightly creased face. I do love it, it will make me smile every time I see it hanging in the bathroom.

Sarah
 
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