Help Dating Asian Silk Lounging Pajamas and Men's Robe/Smoking Jacket

CLVintage

CLVintage

Registered Guest
I picked these up recently and am unsure of the dates...are the lounging pajamas 20's or 30's? And an accurate descriptor of the leg style would be really helpful...fluted? Gusseted? Godet?

The men's robe...I've seen this style described as a smoking jacket and a dressing robe. Which is it? And I'm completely stumped on men's vintage, so no clue as to the date. It's quite large and doesn't fit well on my form. If laying flat to see the shape more accurately would be a help, I'm happy to do it!

Thanks so much!

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These style are made over a number of years - I'm not sure why you think they could be '20s or '30s. Can you tell us what the fabric is: is it silk satin or another type of silk? Any labels? Hand embroidered? How are the seams finished. Is that piping?

The style looks '30s but I need to know more to confidently date it as that. I agree with godets for the inserts. I have a skirt that is similar, in black and white, mine is '30s and was adapted from something else (a dress or perhaps pyjama pants like yours).

The second garment is a dressing gown - smoking jackets are shorter. If you can provide similar information about this one too, I can help on date but just on a photo, well it could be '30s, '60s, '90s or anywhere in between.
 
The pajamas are definitely a silk satin, heavy, but very liquid. All seams are french/enclosed. There is contrast piping on all three pieces and an aged looking frayed label in each that says "No: (left blank) Size S". The embroidery appears to be hand done, though I'm no expert. My camera battery is charging, but I can post closeups in the morning if it would be helpful. My assumption on 20's/30's was just that...an assumption! :) I searched and saw some sort of similar described as either, but like you said, I know these are import items and produced over a number of decades.

The dressing gown (thank you!) is made to be completely reversible, so I can't see the seams at all. The interior of the pocket construction shows raw edging, no serging. I believe it to be a silk brocade with satin lapel, edging and lining, but need to learn to do a burn test one of these days. :) I suppose it could be rayon too.

Thank you Nicole, for helping me out once again!
 
Those pj's are stunning, what a lovely colour combination....I agree with Nicole that this same style was used for quite a number of years. It is possible that they are 30s.
The dressing gown looks newer to me...have you checked all the pockets for a label? As it is reversible, I would say late 50s or early 60s.
 
I think that godet leg was more popular in the 30s than later. Hand embroidery is a good sign of quality. The brocade of the dressing gown has been popular for quite some time. Similar weaves are still available in a 78% rayon/ 22% silk blend. If yours has rayon, I'd tend to think more 60s. But these are really hard to nail down.

Hollis
 
Mary Jane, no labels at all in the pockets of the dressing gown. I'm so thankful all for the help on both pieces...after a decade+ long hiatus from really buying vintage I feel like I'm learning everything all over again!
 
Thank you, Nicole! I thought, until you asked causing me to look closer, that the embroidery was machine-made because it was so uniform, which confused me. But looking again, I see the stop/start threads on the underside. It's really exciting to find these types of garments...every little piece I find with seemingly ridiculous luck results in so much knowledge! I don't know how I managed in pre-Internet era! Especially before finding the VFG site and forums. Again, thank you!
 
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