F.O.G.A. 30s dress...fabric?...care?

The Vintage Vendeuse

The Vintage Vendeuse

VFG Member
I assume this Fashion Originators Guild dress is 30s... or possibly early 40s. The fabric is metallic, does it have a name? How can I rejuvenate this dress? It appears to have spent the last 70 years wadded up at the bottom of a trunk. Can it be washed/cleaned/steamed? The belt is a mystery. There is only one hole and using it makes the belt hang down. Thanks for any and all input!
 

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Stunning garment, VV.

Does it have shoulder pads? The FOGA operated from '32 to '41 and I think this is at the top end of that, so around '39-41. It's too short for a dress, and the front openings with the few buttons suggest it could be a jacket, to be worn with a matching skirt: don't suppose you found one in that trunk?

The fabric is lame: you can read the fabric resource entry here - it's a luxury material and you're right to treat delicately. I would gently steam, not wash but perhaps dry clean. But definitely steam first. I think you'll find it comes up nicely.

The belt is a mystery: don't suppose there are any signs of the jacket being taken in?
 
Has the dress been altered? Looks too short. Or maybe someone washed the dress and it shrunk, but didn't wash the belt.
 
Lame, of course (*smacking forehead*), thanks Nicole! No, no matching anything was found with it. It DID seem short to be a dress... and the hem is definitely original. No sign of shoulder pads. I forgot to mention: the sleeves are extensions of the bodice fabric (not a separate piece) and have diamond gussets in the pits. And there are no signs of any alterations
 
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