Help figure out confusing Vtg 50s Dress

T

Tiffany

Registered Guest
Hi! I am new on here, so forgive me if I have done any of this incorrectly. I bought this amazing vintage dress, and am getting ready to sell it online, but I just can't figure out theses flaps in the front of the dress. They are folded and stitched, but had creases to suggest maybe they were folded differently to fall a different way(I've done my best to figure it out and make them look nice in photos). I've never seen anything like it, and am very curious if anyone out there knows how the dress is supposed to work, and what the style of the flaps would be called. It's also confusing me because the shoulder straps are mis-aligned. One falls to the inside of the boning, and the other to the outside. It makes me wonder if it was home sewn, but then there's a tag that says "Jane Andre California" on the inside. Should I fix the straps before selling? Help! IMG_2219.JPG IMG_2220.JPG
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The fact the flaps are doubled would suggest to me it might have been a bow originally with a central 'ring' of fabric holding them together, perhaps this was removed for dry cleaning/starching and got lost?
I would have thought the previous owner moved the straps, if you can show where they are attached inside this may confirm. Personally I would correct them.
 
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This is a Suzy Perette dress I sold years ago. See how the two flaps are threaded through a rhinestone buckle and lay to one side? Perhaps your dress had something like this. Does your dress have a zipper in the back or at the side? And yes, I would fix the strap before selling.
 
Thanks for the help you guys! I have tried to play around with the flaps and shape them into a bow, but I am at a loss as to how it would have been done. Maybe it had a loop or extra piece that completed it at one time. The fabric is the same on both sides. The zipper is down the back, and the straps look sewn in well, which made me question whether someone altered it. Another strange thing that has made it difficult to shape into a bow, is the fact that they are actually stitched at the corners on the front of the dress. Heres a few more pictures to give you more to go on...IMG_2246.JPGIMG_2247.jpgIMG_2252.JPGIMG_2250.JPGlace 50s 1.jpg
 
I wasn't expecting the straps to be a different shape at the back, which also makes me think someone altered it, perhaps to achieve a more flattering neckline for them?
The flaps look like they could be a nice bow with the right buckle, you are going to be looking for a whopper though, like the one Jody had above.
 
this is a puzzler. i suspect jodie's right, that somehow they're supposed to tie into a bow, but i can't work out how.

there are four panels in total, right? two longer ones on the sides, and the two shorter ones on the front. i can see the ones on the front are doubled fabric. are the ones on the side doubled as well?

perhaps the two longer ones are supposed to thread through the smaller ones? not that this makes a great deal of sense in my head, but it might help.
 
Is it the bottom corner of the smaller flaps that is stitched down? are the outer side panels completely free up to the seam where they are attached?
 
I agree that Jodi seems to have the most probable solution, but it really is a puzzle to figure out! Joan, the side ones are sewn down, and not doubled.

I think there must have been some sort of specific part that held the panels into a draping bow(does that make this more likely 80s?). Now I just have to figure out whether I can find something to substitute as the buckle, or just sew it to manipulate it into the shape I assume it's meant to be.
 
The corner of the smaller panels are stitches down, only at the waist. The side panels on the skirt are sewn down.
 
the side panels are stitched down?? all the way down, like they're supposed to be exactly as in your photos? wow, even more puzzling! it's definitely 50s, not 80s, but i am flummoxed.
 
The type of lace is the same as several (later) 60's dresses I own, so I was actually thinking this was early 60's. Having said that I was a bridesmaid in the 90's and we had contrast side panels like these, a la Disney princess...It was a very dated look at that time however!

Edit: Tiffany the way those panels are stitched into a curving shape really does suggest just a big bow, so each panel forms a semi circular line, crossing in the middle.
 
it looks like the flaps are supposed to go up, and on the diagonal. what happens if you thread one through the other? i'd think at least they'd lay right.
 
Thank you all for your thoughts and suggestions! I will leave this up for anyone else who has an idea as to how it may be worn. Thanks again!!!
 
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