Dorothy R. Young

[dianebush]

This label is in a black silk dress, no zipper or snaps...just one covered button at back of neck. It has a Grecian
draped front, and elaborate pleats on each sleeve and side kick pleat...which makes the hemline asymmetrical front on. I think the dress is from the 20s....what do you think?

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi Diane,

Interesting dress. The construction suggests something more modern - and the labelling too. If you can please tell us a little more about it - fabric composition and weave (the pleats look permanent, in which case there must be some element of synthetic, not around in the '20s) and if the hem suggests the length is original? Are there any shoulder pads? What are the measurements?

The style looks like an early '80s interpretation of '20s style (I had something similar in '82), but it could be '60s.

Thank you.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

I am seeing more of a late 30s dress here. It's an unusual style.

 

[lkranieri]

Well, the 1940 US census has a 64 year old widow named Dorothy Young (born ca. 1876 in OK) living in Los Angeles, CA and working as a dressmaker for "private people."

EDITED TO ADD: In the 1920 census that same Dorothy was widowed and working as a "designer." In the 1930 census she was recorded as divorced and working as a dressmaker in a ready-to-wear shop.

 

[lkranieri]

In other quick searches for information about Dorothy Young, I found early 1940s ads for Dorothy Young's Anticipation Shop "for expectant mothers." If your dress is of that era, perhaps it was a maternity dress?