Help dating shirt

Vintagiality

Vintagiality

VFG Treasurer
Hi all,

Is anyone familiar with the label Raleigh Haberdasher? I know the company went out of business in 1992 and was sold a number of times prior to that but can't quite find anything on labels or style and I am trying to date this shirt. Also, would you consider this to be a tuxedo style shirt?

IMG_7155.JPG IMG_7156.JPG IMG_7157.JPG IMG_7158.JPG IMG_7159.JPG IMG_7160.JPG IMG_7161.JPG
Thank you
Victoria
 
Hi Victoria, I agree that the shirt could be called "tuxedo style" although I personally would not use that term because it's not white. I would refer to the front pintucking and lace trim.

Shirts can be hard to date and there is little in this one that denotes era, with the exception of the collar. I take it that there aren't any other labels, perhaps down the side seam?

The collar on this one suggests to me a date about 1990-1991.
 
It looks like a 1970s dress shirt, with that crochet lace and pintucked front, but it doesn't have the pointed collar that usually accompanies this style.

I would have said it was modern, the current trend meaning a lot of manufacturers and copying straight from vintage, but the label doesn't look that new. Can you show both sides of the care label please?

I would call it a tuxedo style shirt personally, because I see it as a more formal style that is likely to be worn with a suit than jeans etc. I would make sure to keep in that word 'style' though, as Nicole is correct that it is not a Tuxedo shirt.
 
Thank you, Nicole and Melanie. There are no care labels at all. The only label is the Raleigh one. However, one thing I forgot to mention and ask about was the fact that the shirt appears "unfinished" on the bottom. I think I have seen this somewhere with shirts that get custom finished but not really sure. There is also what looks like an imprint of WII and some numbers at the bottom. Does that reveal anything?

image.jpeg

Thank you again
Victoria
 
Hi Victoria,

No reputable manufacturer would produce an unhemmed garment like this - I think it's likely that it was longer originally and has been shortened. It could explain why it seems to be shorter at the front than the back too. It can't have been washed too many times since then or the fraying would be more notable.

Sometimes you find that shirts that are designed to be worn tucked in (like '40s blouses) have a rougher end, but they'll be overlocked/serged or zigzagged rather than properly hemmed.
 
From the size markings on the tail (I would assume 15 is the neck size is this marked on the inside of the collar too?) and the lack of other labels I'm leaning toward this being a 1960's/70's shirt, just not from the period with the super peak collars.
 
Nicole, I did think it was strange that it was unhemmed. The front and back are the same length, it's just the way I took the picture to show both edges. It seems strange that someone would cut a shirt like this and leave it but it looks and feels completely unworn so maybe they bought it and intended to shorten it but never finished.

Melanie, no other markings on the collar. There seems to be possibly a small superscript 2 near the 15 and maybe SH next to the WII. Here is a close up
image.jpeg

Thank you again.
 
I think it says 15 1/2; I see 1970's also and it is a tuxedo shirt. I don't know why it isn't hemmed. It's possible that the shirt was custom made by Raleigh Haberdashers for a wedding party.

Linn
 
Mens tuxedo shirt. Hem might have been trimmed or cut off by the wearer to reduce the amount of fabric being tucked in...just a possible scenario. These shirts became popular with the Peacock Revolution in men's formal wear that started in the late 60s and went into the 70s.
 
Peacock Revolution? Very real. Mentioned in multiple books and also online resources. It created a lot of agony and ecstasy in the menswear world. :)

Some good info and photos here:

Code: 
http://www.blacktieguide.com/History/11-Counterculture.htm

and

Code: 
http://www.blacktieguide.com/Vintage/Vintage_Retro.htm
 
Marvelous! Have you seen Into the Woods? My favourite song in it is called Agony and is a perfection depiction of peacocking. (two princes from alternate nursery stories dressed up to hilt in regalia and bemoaning the difficulties of capturing their princesses) The recent film version of the song was possibly even more so than the 1980s stage performance.
 
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