Help Dating Two Piece Dress

[*~Eli!]

Hello All,

I have a vintage two piece dress / matching skirt & top set that has me baffled.

Awhile back I picked up a ton of wondrous pieces at an estate sale. Most of the woman's items at this sale, were larger in size & from the late fifties to late 70s. The few items I found from the 40s were much smaller in size, so it made it easier to date them & I was able to confirm my hunches on all of them, but this one has me stumped, since it is smaller & sort of mimics an older style (at least to me) but is at least from 55 due to the ILGWU label having the AFL CIO insignia found on the 55 - 63 label.

Black with creamy white pin stripe fluid but slightly stiff silk crepe, drop waist blouson top, zips up the back, with a mild V neck & attached polka dot scarf with pleated, full skirt, topped with a fitted smooth, black band, that appears to me, was meant to be hidden under the longer shirt hem, skirt hits just below the knee & the entire dress is finely finished at every hem & seam.

How would one tie this scarf?
Do you think this is a mid to late 50s or early 60s era peice?
Anything you can share about it, be it thoughts on style or era, is greatly appreciated.

*~Eli

 

[Jonathan]

It looks early 80s to me from what I can see - the wide waistband, blouson top, strong shoulder line... maybe if you could post some detail shots - labels, zipper, interior finishing of waist...

 

[bartondoll]

I'm with Jonathan - late 70s/early 80s. (and yes, detail shots would be helpful)

 

[*~Eli!]

Thanks Jonathan,

I believe the dress to be 1963, since it has "Union Label" in the blue circle (which started in 63) yet has no "R" registration sign, which was added in 64. The seams are pinked (I'll add pic) & the zips are metal & there is no lining, so I think I am pretty solid on the date of the dress, but I could always of course be wrong.

But regardless, how it is meant to be worn or what to call it? I found a few patterns on etsy from the 30s - 50s with similar designs, but am still unsure what to coin it. The neck scarf is quite short to tie, do you think there was some sort of ring, or broach meant to close it? Would it be worn open? Do you think the black band about the waist is meant to show?

I appreciate it.

Thanks

*~Eli

 

[MyVintageCocktail]

I'm not sure your dress can be dated precisely to 1963, but yes, I'd say 60s and not 50s. I think this is a nautical or sailor-inspired style; also, blouson tops were popular in the 60s for a bit (not too long, I think, but I've had some). My first thought was it probably played off the popularity of "The Unsinkable Molly Brown." I think I remember seeing a movie poster back then that showed Debbie Reynolds in a similar outfit. (Showing my age here!)

I'm having trouble seeing good detail in your photos, but is there any sort of collar at the back? The neck tie is supposed to be short like that (you could use a scarf clip with it, but the way you have it tied looks right to me). I am consternated by the wide waistband on the skirt, though. Is it elastic? Could it be a stitched-on band that was added later? That construction doesn't look familiar to me personally, but that doesn't mean much. It may not be atypical at all.

 

[*~Eli!]

The band is made of the same material as the dress & does not appear to be added. I believe it was not meant to be seen under the shirt, but my model (quite literally) has no hips, she is straight up & down, so I think that although the dress fit her well, the skirt may have sat lower on her hips than intended.

There is no collar, just a V & the tie is single stitch sewn to the back of the collar. The weird thing about the dress is that is is so small and only the stuff from the 40s to mid 50s was that size in this estate, all of the rest of the items were consistently larger & from late 50s to 70s, but for this dress. Its just one of those baffling things you come across at an estate sale. Whose dress was this and how did it get into the mix? Crazy good estate sale though, everything dry cleaned, bagged & hung for posterity... 10 bedrooms full. Maybe it belonged to a daughter?

Anyway, thanks so much. Im gonna post it as 60s. Im guessing it would be worn with maybe white tights & Mary Janes? Im starting to provide wardrobe items for movies, so when I get stumped with one, I still need to get a feel for how it would be worn so that I may record it & keep it on hand for a knowledge point.

As for all of the difficulty seeing details, would it help if I enlarged the photos next time, or should I have taken them differently?

As always ... A very grateful thank you to all!

*~E

 

[MyVintageCocktail]

As for all of the difficulty seeing details, would it help if I enlarged the photos next time, or should I have taken them differently?

I find that when I have something I want to post here, I crop out as much background as possible, and re-size the photos to be anywhere from around 300 to 350 px wide. That way we're seeing the item itself "up closer" and not extraneous background.

HTH!

 

[cactusandcattails]

I am seeing more late 60s, and a reflection of the '20s revival popularized by the movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie"

Manufacturers often used union labels until they ran out.

 

[MyVintageCocktail]

Ha, Brenda, maybe it's Thoroughly Modern Millie I was thinking about! I think I was confused, but now that I see your post, I think that's what I was thinking about.... I knew it was some movie from the 60s--lol! Molly, Millie, something beginning with "M"; at least I remembered that part right!

 

[*~Eli!]

Yeah, 60s fits with the rest of the items with much more sense.

Thank you so very much!

Ill take photos more simple photos, that are not the ones Id later use to post next time

Thank you

*~Eli

 

[retro ruth]

I also wondered about the Thoroughly Modern Millie sixties thing.