Hello! Help dating a hand made Womens kimono jacket

[ThreadWoman]

Hello,

I found this piece somewhere in Bristol in the UK. I think it looks pretty old and is almost definitely hand made as there are no labels and the seams and needlework look hand made. But to be honest I am very new to this and have no idea. If anyone could help me out and tell me what sort of date they think this was made I would really appreciate it.

Thanks!

 

[Pinkcoke]

Hi on first glance it looks like a 1950s or 60's cardigan. The faille (ribbed material) is an odd choice for it though and I wonder if it was made from a dress...

 

[ThreadWoman]

Thanks a lot! Do you have any advice on things I could check to verify its from this time? That's interesting that you think it might be made from a dress, I would have never guessed that

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi ThreadWoman and welcome to the forums. It will help if you can provide more information - this thread has a lot of advice and links that could help.

As far as this item is concerned, can you tell us what fabric it's made of? I agree with Melanie that it could be faille but there are other ribbed materials and fabric helps determine date. The textured material looks like it could be waffleweave cotton but it's unlikely to be found on the sound garment as faille. Here's some info about how to determine fabric if you're not sure.

It's hard to see the shape of your jacket: it doesn't look like a kimono to me, more a '50s open fronted jacket that may have had a matching dress originally but I really can't be sure on the available info. Are you able to photograph it being worn?

The reason that I think it might be '50s is due to the construction but the style could be '60s.

The more you can tell us, the more we can help you. Thank you.

 

[ThreadWoman]

Thanks. The timeline was very useful I can understand why you both think it's 40s/50s. So I burnt a sample of the fabric. Was hard to say if it was Charing or melting seemed to do a bit of both but the flame was definitely not self extinguishing and what was left was a soft grey ash with small black hairs in it. Maybe it's some sort of mix? Cotton and something synthetic? Here are some pictures of my friend wearing the jacket and I also put a close up of the material. I'm not sure why I called it a kimono, there's just something about it that made me think kimono. Thanks so much for your help. Very kind of you

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Thanks for the additional pics and information - it's surprisingly long! The style looks '80s now and the fabric sounds more modern too. Are there any shoulder pads or signs they were there originally?

 

[ThreadWoman]

Hello! sorry for the late reply, went away for the weekend. No, there definitely has not been any shoulder pads removed. I know what you mean about the shape though but the material definetly has a really old feel that I can't get across in the photos. Maybe since its hand made someone used the material from an older item to make it in the 80s like was suggested before. I also feel that it looks much older when closed and more 80s when left open which is intriguing...

 

[Pinkcoke]

From the additional photos I think what I saw as possible being faille was actually the reverse of the outer fabric with the daisies on it. I agree it looks later now that we can see the shape worn - 80s or even 90s I'd say. The construction and fabric does look older but it is possible it was made from something else by someone with older sewing techniques. The strip of daisies appears to have been cut from the main fabric and sewn back onto this new garment as a border, as I wouldn't normally expect the stitching to go through the design like that.

 

[ThreadWoman]

I see that makes sense. I feel that maybe the daisy part might even be from an entirely different garment/ piece of material. Thank you so much for your help!