Help dating children’s vintage

[Katieolivia]

Hi, I’m new here so not sure if this is right or not. I’ve recently got into children’s vintage clothing but I’m finding it incredibly difficult to date items. Does anyone have any useful tips or websites?
Thank you in advance x

 

[denisebrain]

I wonder if @Sandy Starr would be able to pop in—she is a children's vintage clothing expert.

 

[Midge]

Old mail order catalogs or reprints of mail order catalogs might give an idea of styles etc. for dating? Like the Everyday Fashions from the... book series that has excerpts of old Sears catalogs by decade. They include childrenswear too.

 

[Linn]

I agree with the suggestion of looking at old catalogs - and if you can post photos, depending on the items, some of us may remember when we wore that type of clothing as children - or when our children wore similar items - or we may have some old photos of ourselves.

 

[Vinclothes]

I found this book helpful for dating children's clothing:
Pink and Blue, Telling the Boys From the Girls in America, Jo B. Paoletti, Indiana University Press, Bloomington and Indianapolis, 2012.
It looks at the genderizing of young children's clothing from a material culture point of view, but does give a lot of dating information along the way.
Marian

 

[Katieolivia]

Thank you everyone! I’ll have a look at those

 

[anothertimevintageapparel]

The fabric is always a good indication of age. Polyester came out in 1960s.
I watch the old classic movies from the 30s on up. That is a great way to determine styles.