Help dating this (50's?) dress

[missaleecat]

Hi there

Please could you help me with this dress that I picked up in a thrift store.

It appears to be a 50's silhouette (cinched in waist, full circle cut skirt) but I'm not entirely sure.
The fabric appears to be a taffeta type fabric, the bodice has boning inserts and the garment has all the usual finishes you would expect from a 50's garment: centre back metal zip, generous overlocked seams etc.
It has a cotton decorative trim (appears yellowed with age) that has been stitched onto the front of the bodice with diamante stud detail. On further investigation I can see the garment has been let out somewhere along the line as the side seams present with a double row of needle holes from the original stitching.

It also has a sash that is stitched directly onto the one side seam, but hangs awkwardly down past the bottom of the skirt. This makes me wonder if perhaps the sash may have looked different originally but I'm not sure how.

Any ideas?

 

[Pinkcoke]

Do you have photos of the back and of the sash held out so we can see the construction? (I can't see it hanging past the hem in your photo, but I assume its hidden in the skirt)
I have seen another 50's dress recently which had a sash with decorated ends such as this, but that was 'tied' once across the front and hung the shorter end on top of the longer. The decoration on the front of your dress would suggest the sash is not meant to go in front of it, so I can only think it either hangs as is or was once tacked to the back somewhere.

 

[missaleecat]

Do you have photos of the back and of the sash held out so we can see the construction? (I can't see it hanging past the hem in your photo, but I assume its hidden in the skirt)
I have seen another 50's dress recently which had a sash with decorated ends such as this, but that was 'tied' once across the front and hung the shorter end on top of the longer. The decoration on the front of your dress would suggest the sash is not meant to go in front of it, so I can only think it either hangs as is or was once tacked to the back somewhere.

Hi Melanie...I just updated my post with the missing pictures..Please check again.

 

[Pinkcoke]

Was the first photo reversed or is it pinned up in a swag across the back on that photo?

 

[missaleecat]

Ah sorry, the photo on the mannequin is a bit misleading. I had pinned the sash loosely around the back and onto the other seam when photographing for my store, as I thought this may be the way to fix the sash at the time. But I haven't yet posted the dress because I'm feeling unconvinced re that positioning. Also, the sash is cut at an angle, and kind of flares out like a fan at the end. So in reality it would be quite untidy if tacked around to the other seam.
Very confusing!

 

[Pinkcoke]

The fan be equal on both sides suggests to me it was meant to hand vertically and flare out when walking. It has perhaps come off and not been reattached high enough, or folded over enough. I would go over the whole sash and look for any old stitch holes for clues.