Help dating this vintage dress! Is it old or repro?

[emma__wallflower]

Hi there,

I bought a dress on eBay, from a seller who thought it was 1940s style, but I just saw a very similar on on Etsy saying it was true 1940s! The problem is quite a few things are contradicting, like care labels but a metal side zip.

The dress is a heavy cotton, with fitted waist, shirred shoulders and gathered full skirt.
There were small shoulder pads which I removed as they were a fine net filled with orange stuff (I'm not sure what it was, sorry) that was disintegrating into small sand-like crystals.
Plastic side zip with metal pull (not invisible) by OPTI.
Interfacing on the inside neckline.

Plastic buttons down the front with a film type cover.
Has a care label.

What age do you think it is?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi Emma, and welcome to the VFG!

Lovely frock - it's a bit hard to see the silhouette but the zipper looks more modern than the '40s and the care labels determine that your dress is likely to be no earlier than the '70s I think.

Are you able to get a good, clear shot of the care label so we can see all the symbols? These styles came back in the '90s but the shoulder pads suggest it might be '80s. If you can take a pic of it being worn it will be very helpful too.

 

[retro ruth]

I see early 80s.

It's an early version of the iron care symbol, which you wouldn't see in the 1990s.

BTW, a zip from the 1940s would have metal teeth, not just a metal pull. Many modern zips have metal pulls.

The distinegrating stuff in your shoulder pads was probably foam, which again you wouldn't find in 1940s pads.

The print is a very good reproduction though!

 

[Jonathan]

Looks 80s to me - I remember they were popular with women who wanted a vintage look and saw them worn with straw hats and flat shoes

 

[Jonathan]

It reminded me of the dress Geena Davis wore in Beetlejuice, but I looked it up and it had a looser waist, but the print is very similar:

 

[Pinkcoke]

The beetlejuice dress looks like it could be a Liberty or Laura Ashley print but the colour on white with solid outline is more typical of their styles than the slightly broken outline and coloured background of the poster's dress print (which reminds me of more middle or low end brands such as C&A or Ladies Pride).

 

[Better Dresses Vintage]

Hold up! That's not a North American care label, it's a European (Ginitex) label. See that it says "Baumwolle?" (German for cotton). They've been around much longer. Where's the thread about European labels? You know I'm hopeless on this forum.

FYI, I think it's early 80s, a la the whole Gunne Sax/Laura Ashley thing. Pretty dress!

Here are the notes.

 

[emma__wallflower]

Thank you all for your help! Definitely going for 1980ish seems about right (it's very well done print for a repro though!). Yes it is Baumwool, so I'll look into that label too-most artiles I've seen have been American, it hadn't crossed my mind European ones have been around longer!