Dress - pre- or post WWII?

scillas

scillas

Registered Guest
Hello again.
Would be very happy with help dating this dress.

It is made from a rayon crepe fabric, has small shoulderpads and metal zipper at the side. It is closed in the neck with 6 buttons and a hook at the top. I think it may have been longer, the skirt hem doesn't look original – hand-stitched, whereas the rest is machine sewn.
I has had a belt made from the same fabric, but that's gone.

To me it looks like a 40es dress, and I thought that could actually means post-war here in Europe. Post-war was also the kind of feeling I got from the print and model –though I don't know enough about vintage fashion to argue why ;).
But then the label says "Wiener Mode" meaning "Vienna Fashion" and I find it a little odd that you would name something Vienna just after the war – Denmark being occupied. So I'm wondering if it could be pre-war? or maybe from the early forties if there was any clothing being produced in Europe at that time?
Can anyone help ? Thanks in advance
Sille

more pics:
http://www.silles.dk/test/ting/kjole.html
 
Early 1940's is correct. You can date this dress c1940-45. Skirt hems were always being altered and hand stitching is common. Pity about the belt but it's a sweet little frock.
 
It looks 1940/41 to me because of the short puffed sleeves, small pads, high cut across the neckline, use of a zipper and the fullish skirt style. Because it is a Viennese dress in Denmark it suggests it is after Denmark was occupied when German and Austrian fashions were being offered in Danish shops. There was an organized effort to promote German and Austrian made fashions to occupied, allied, and neutral countries. There was even a saying I read once that was something about trading German fashion for Swedish coal but I don't remember the exact phrase at the moment. There are numerous reasons the dress could have been shortened, including that it was swapped with a girlfriend who was shorter, so I wouldn't read too much into that but it is a shame the belt is missing, however it might have been damaged at the time and torn through from being worn too much.
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you once again – as always impressed with your knowledge.
I agree with you Nicole on loving prints from that era.

The belt was there until recently, and might even show up again – the lady I bought it from just couldn't find it when she send it to me (and was truly sorry about it). Other than that, it really is in a good condition - the neckline hem has two small splits in the "angles" of the neckline, the fabric has loosened a little on the back of one of the buttons, but otherwise it looks fine.

And wow, that is so interesting, Jonathan – a dress with a history !

There is this ongoing discussion here about our (Denmarks) collaboration with the Germans during the war; Denmark and danish buisnesses a little too willingly exporting dairy, bacon, etc. (and earning very well on that) to our occupiers.
I just never thought about the the other side – the import side. I know that Denmark was known to German soldiers as the "(whipped) Cream frontier", implying that life here was much easier than in other occupied countries (for example The Netherlands) – we were treated kinder because we didn't resist that hard – until very late in the war, anyway.
 
Thanks Marty :-)
Well, sometimes you have travel far to find the experts ;-)
And such friendly experts too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top