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Help! What era is this dress from - and could it be a uniform?

Discussion in 'PUBLIC Vintage Fashion - Ask Questions Get Answers' started by Johanna, May 17, 2012.

  1. Johanna

    Johanna Registered Guest

    Hi all! I just bought this dress and really want to know when it dates from. The lady in the shop guessed it might be late 1960s or early 1970s, and she also thought it might be some kind of uniform. Does anybody have any suggestions? It is pale beige in colour with a zip up the back (the buttons on the front are just for show). It has 3 lables inside; one which says 'Professional' and 'polyester/rayon', another which states the dress size, and bust, waist and hip measurements (in cm - it was purchased in Australia), and a third lable which is fraying but appears to say 'Drip dry finish, do not boil or use bleach, a little ironing may be necessary'. Please let me know if photos of the lables and back of the dress would be helpful.
    Thanks in advance! DSC00786b.jpg
     
  2. Vinclothes

    Vinclothes Alumni +

    Is the zipper metal or plastic? It is not necessarily a uniform; it could just be a simple day dress. IMHO most uniforms did not have flared skirts.
    Marian
     
  3. Johanna, photos of the labels will help but if it's an Australian dress with sizes in centimetres, it's unlikely to be earlier than '70s and perhaps even '80s as inches were used for a long time after the metric change over in '67. In any case, with the information you've provided I think it's probably late '70s to early '80s uniform as I saw similar styles then.

    I can help more with a photo of the size label as the sizes changed over the years and the measurements to size will indicate whether it's '70s or '80s or another era.
     
  4. poppysvintageclothing

    poppysvintageclothing VFG Board Member Staff Member VFG Past President

    It looks like a waitress uniform to me from the 70s.
     
  5. joules

    joules VFG Member

  6. regan

    regan Registered Guest

    I was thinking waitress uniform too.
     
  7. Johanna

    Johanna Registered Guest

    Thanks for your input everybody! I have included a photo of the back of the dress, plus the 3 lables. I think you might be right about '70s-'80s for the time frame. It does have a plasic zip, so I'm guessing that rules it out as '60s (the colour screams 1970s at me). I will Google some old waitress uniforms and see if anything similar comes up. I think what made the lady from Red Ruby Vintage (local vintage shop) think it was a uniform was the little belt bit round the back. I agree that it could be a day dress, Marian, and that's what I thought it was at first. When you see the dress actually on though , it is quite formal-looking - really quite smart. And I totally forgot about the metric change over! I should be able to look up when clothing lables switched to cm from inches in Aus. Brilliant. Thanks for the info! Any other thoughts from the new pictures? DSC00789b.jpg DSC00794b.jpg DSC00799.JPG DSC00803.JPG
     
  8. The Vintage Merchant

    The Vintage Merchant Administrator Staff Member

    definitely uniform. my sister was a "beautician" in the very late 60s/early 70s and wore uniforms like this (with flared skirts) all the time.
     
  9. denisebrain

    denisebrain VFG Vice President Staff Member VFG Past President

    That "Professional" on the label certainly seems to indicate some sort of uniform.
     
  10. Thanks for the pics - the size converts to a modern Aus 10, so I'll go with late '70s. You used to be able to buy racks of assorted uniform styles in Coles and other shops, and many women wore them for various jobs like hairdressers, cafe and restaurant staff. One of the restaurants I cooked in, during '81-83 I wore a similar uniform. It was just something smart and practical.
     
  11. Perditaspursuits

    Perditaspursuits Registered Guest

    Yeah I thought it looked like a beautician's uniform. I think it's the colour- hits that feminine/clinical balance quite nicely!
     
  12. Johanna

    Johanna Registered Guest

    Wow, thanks for the info. Much appreciated!
     
  13. foofoogal

    foofoogal Registered Guest

    I seriously had this dress in early 1970s with one of my first jobs as a waitress.
    Memories. Thanks.
     
    Johanna likes this.
  14. Johanna

    Johanna Registered Guest

    Ha ha! Awesome!
     

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