Help Dating Dickens And Jones Grossgrain Coat

GemGem

GemGem

Registered Guest
Hi all, I have another dating query that I hope you can help with, and I just love a little mystery game :)


I have this beautiful but terribly discoloured coat by Dickens And Jones and it has another label 'West One Model' which I am wondering was a specific range at their department store but haven't been able to find any info on.

Oh also if we manage to accurately date it we could put the label in the label resource as there is just one label for Dickens & Jones.


The fabric is a gross grain and I believe originally it was a bright purple but it seems to be only purple in some places and a bright magenta in most!

I did the burn test which i think is inconclusive. It burnt slowly, horrible smell and left a charcoal lump, not fine ash, not melted globule.

It is quite dirty in places so I think it could do with a clean but am worried about even a cool soak with colour catchers so any advice on that also appreciated. Obviously I would have to ensure the velvet collar stayed dry...

It has a velvet collar, is nipped in at the waist has large shoulders with wadding underneath and has fabric covered buttons. The skirt lightly flares but not a lot. I think the style of the west one model label could help with dating as it is very stylistic. The back has multiple panels and this really looks beautiful on a person.

My best guess at present would be very late 40s to turn of the decade..... I am getting better at dating but you guys are the experts and I just love reading all the threads about dating with your wonderful insights!


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Interestingly it came with a dress which is a similar colour and has a similar amount of colour fading, but no labels to the dress and the fabric is different so I'm not sure they actually belong together, maybe they were worn together because of the colours.
 
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I think it's likely that West One Model was a separate company. It used to be common to have labels for both the brand and the department store, and the brand wasn't necessarily exclusive to the store, or in house. But it could be an in house range too.

Unfortuntely the name West One Model is going to be near impossible to research! I'm guessing you know the significance of West One - W1 - the London postcode for the main West End shopping district, including Regent Street.

Your other questions I will leave to my esteemed colleagues.

It's gorgeous!
 
Retro Ruth said:
I think it's likely that West One Model was a separate company. It used to be common to have labels for both the brand and the department store, and the brand wasn't necessarily exclusive to the store, or in house. But it could be an in house range too.

Unfortuntely the name West One Model is going to be near impossible to research! I'm guessing you know the significance of West One - W1 - the London postcode for the main West End shopping district, including Regent Street.

Your other questions I will leave to my esteemed colleagues.

It's gorgeous!
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So gorgeous, to be honest I slightly prefer the dress it came with, which is also gorgeous. and YES! West One v W1 would be a crazy stroke of luck to find that out. Most of the department store were either regent st w1 or oxford street w1 or some boutique w1.... I forsee the difficulties...
 
I think Ruth's comment make sense. Re. the fabric terminology, I think you meant grosgrain :) - just a small matter of spelling. It may also be faille, which to my knowledge is finer than gosgrain. The fibre is probably some mix hence the results. In my experience, rayon can fade or the colour change due to sunlight in such ways as to not just fade, but change colour, so that could be a reason for the unusual colour change in your coat. I wouldn't dare soaking it, as I would fear that the different fabric and materials (also possible inner layers between lining and outer fabric) may react in different ways to this (possible shrinking). I would have it dry-cleaned, but I think as to the colour damage, there is nothing much that can be done about it. As for dating, I would say probably on the 40s/50s cusp.
 
Midge said:
I think Ruth's comment make sense. Re. the fabric terminology, I think you meant grosgrain :) - just a small matter of spelling. It may also be faille, which to my knowledge is finer than gosgrain. The fibre is probably some mix hence the results. In my experience, rayon can fade or the colour change due to sunlight in such ways as to not just fade, but change colour, so that could be a reason for the unusual colour change in your coat. I wouldn't dare soaking it, as I would fear that the different fabric and materials (also possible inner layers between lining and outer fabric) may react in different ways to this (possible shrinking). I would have it dry-cleaned, but I think as to the colour damage, there is nothing much that can be done about it. As for dating, I would say probably on the 40s/50s cusp.
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Ahhh, I was wondering what fabric had this odd colour change, I have a couple of items with acetate lining which i think have colour change too but not this severe/different. And yes, i had meant grosgrain, that for the spelling check :)

I had a look at a few Faille fabric coats from the period and I think it could be Faille, whats more I think I have a couple of other garments made with this fabric so thank you, that's very useful info for me! How would you distinguish between Faille and Grosgrain?

Ok dry cleaning only is sound advice, I wouldn't want to ruin it!

Thanks again
 
I have noted that the e's in the Model One label resemble the pac man style c's of the cc41 label. Though that would likely only indicate it was after WW2?

I'm wondering if we have enough input to accurately date it for the label resource? Is it possible to place it in the label resource as 40's-50's cusp?
 
GemGem said:
I have noted that the e's in the Model One label resemble the pac man style c's of the cc41 label. Though that would likely only indicate it was after WW2?

I'm wondering if we have enough input to accurately date it for the label resource? Is it possible to place it in the label resource as 40's-50's cusp?
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Yes, we can add the Dickins and Jones label with a late-1940s to early-1950s date.
The West One label will be put aside for further research.
Thanks, @GemGem!
 
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