Help dating wool dress - 1940s?

[zannew]

This is a home made dress. It has a metal zipper up the center back. It is unlined. It seems like 1940s to me but would love your opinion. Thanks!

 

[tickeryboo]

what is the fabric? and how are the seams finished off?

lorraine

 

[zannew]

It is a wool (or possibly a blend). The seams are raw edges.

 

[poppysvintageclothing]

It has a very late 30s or early 40s look to it. It is just unusual that there is a zipper up the back though...as at that time, zippers were usually on the side.

 

[Pinkcoke]

Could you show the zip and how it is sewn in please? Is the lace at the cuffs straight or gathered?

 

[Linn]

It looks late 1930's or very early 1940's to me, also. It's quite long, unless it's a late afternoon or dinner dress. It looks like something an older woman, perhaps a dowager or widow would have worn. I have seen/handled a 1930's piece with a center back zipper but it is unusual. I remember posting about a piece in the UH Historic Costume Collection (when I was doing some volunteer work a few years ago) with a center back zipper. One of our members pointed out that Joan Crawford wore a gown in "The Women" that had one!

Linn

 

[BonniesVintageClothesLine]

Looks like late 1930's to me!

 

[Midge]

That back zip threw me totally - good to know that they seem to have occasionally happened earlier... Apart from that I'd have said late 30s or 40s.

Karin

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I suspect this dress is late '60s to early '70s with a revival of the late '30s to early '40s styles. The applied lace looks much older. The construction and fabrics will determine the date: can you tell if the fabric is pure wool or a mix - my easy test is to dampen the fabric and smell it. A mix will smell faintly of wool, not as strongly as a pure wool which smells (for want of a better expression) like a wet sheep. Assuming you know what a wet sheep smells like! It's a very strong smell - if you're not sure, wet something you know is wool and you'll know what I mean.

This fabric looks like a mix to me: a mix will prove that it can not be of the earlier era.

Also: the construction - what is the hem like? Raw seams weren't unheard of in the late '30s-early '40s but they were much more common in more recent times. I also, have seen centre back zippers in that time but they're unusual - the elements all add up to a more modern dress for me.