Help with YSL

Carol

Carol

Registered Guest
I am new to the forum. I need help with a Yves Saint Laurent label. I have checked resources and I can find nothing definitive. Online sellers are all over the place as far as pricing. Attached are pictures. It is a long or midi skirt. I cannot tell if the velvet is cotton, usually I can distinguish between synthetic or cotton. Maybe a blend, maybe I can’t tell because of the lining-goofy, I know but I am stumped I!!!It is heavy. There is a Yves Saint Laurent label, separate label says made in France.
A lot of hand stitching please look at pictures for stitching around lining and where the epaulets are (lining side) The content or care tag is stapled to the brand tag, as if someone wanted to make sure it was included. It is not legible. This is a repost, I originally posted in the new members forum (oops)
Any help is appreciated. Thank you, Carol Two Labels and Stitching.jpg
 

Attachments

  • Epau..jpg
    Epau..jpg
    497.7 KB · Views: 272
  • waist stitch.jpg
    waist stitch.jpg
    24.4 KB · Views: 240
  • Front YSL.jpg
    Front YSL.jpg
    248.2 KB · Views: 284
  • Back YSL.jpg
    Back YSL.jpg
    240.9 KB · Views: 266
Brenda,
Thanks for deleting my duplicate post. lol so much for a graceful first impression.
I agree with you , that the skirt label looks most like the 70's YSL label in label resources. Doubts about the styling prompted me to post. Any thoughts on why so much hand stitching? Any thoughts on the "made in France" label being separate? Do you know why there is such a broad range of prices on the internet for YSL? (allowing for opinions and mis-identified items?) I see YSL for thousands of dollars and then some around $50. Thanks for your time.
 
I agree with Brenda on a '70s to very early '80s dating and think that it looks like cotton velvet - I take it there aren't any content labels? Sorry, I just realised - you've mentioned that it's illegible. That type of label puts it further into the '80s I think.

The hand finishing is not couture quality so it could be as a result of an alteration. Perhaps the lining has been replaced or the width of the waistband has been adjusted? If you look closely at the label stitching you should be able to tell if it's original or been moved or added at some stage. The skirt side fastenings (frogging?) have been hand sewn through the lining, which doesn't look original either so perhaps they've been added too.

Regarding the prices for designer labels varying so much, I think it's simply that many people do not know what they're worth and either get excited or price too low. It certainly makes it hard to value things, and then when you consider the many fakes it makes it harder still. For example, your skirt shows significant signs of alteration, sufficient to make me wonder if the label is original. There are many who like to sew in labels that do not belong so it's a good policy to be cautious. Here is where provenance helps a great deal.
 
I remember in the late 70s or thereabouts, the Rive Gauche line had a wonderful Russian and Eastern European influence, I just forget which year off the top of my head (I am sure you can research that). Black velvet, frogs, tassels, Cossack hats, curly lamb fur, etc. Your skirt (from just the photos, mind you) has the general look of that YSL line, but somehow does not look "right" to me, and may have been altered or added to, or it could be the label was added. Any YSL velvets from that time I have handled were a heavy rayon velvet or a blend cotton rayon velveteen. Those are called frogs (not epaulets) and while they were used on the YSL RV line, those look different than the ones I have seen. They look like the ones you buy in a fabric chain store, just not quite opulent enough. The buttons on the frog closures seem odd for couture or even YSL RDW, they are too small, to simple, and look lonely. The button usually would be of the same black silk cording as the frog, or possibly a fancy metal button. Are those plastic buttons? As for the sewing through the lining, it is possible the frogs became loose, or the buttons replaced, but all this adds up to an altered garment which will be suspect to serious buyers.

I do not recall a maxi skirt from the RV line, most were mid calf length or midi, but again, I have not researched that so it is possible.

I cannot say if it is original YSL, but wanted to comment on the frogs and buttons and the dating.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top