I FOUND ONE!!! WWII Utility label, Elgora ?s

themerchantsofvintage

themerchantsofvintage

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If not for the VFG, this would have been passed up. Not that it's sellable - yet (because somebody botched it up by putting a buttonhole on the other side and moved the buttons over - probably because it was too big - otherwise surprisingly fab condition), but because I recognized the label and knew there was a thread where you were collecting information and that it was 40s!!! Sorry - it's my first 40s jacket...I'm a little excited... and babbling...

I would like to know more exact timeline if poss before I post on label thread.

I'd also like to know if you think the cuff buttons are original to the jacket (navy blue on black)? Or would they have been like the three self covered buttons?

It is single breasted with 3 buttons (one was removed and put on the inside for that badly made button hole). The back is not a flap, but a pleat.

Oh, at the bottom of the cuffs there's this strange stuff - I can't see it, only feel it, but it seems to be like a padded weight or something???? Anyone know what this is??

As always, THANKS!!!



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Deb, I have never had my hands on anything with that WWII utility
label - infact I didn't even know about it, until reading about it here.

The jacket looks like gabardine, is it?

I don't know about those cuff buttons. Any 40s suits or jackets I've had, if the buttons on the front of the jacket are covered, the cuff buttons
match - but maybe that is just on the ones I've had.

Hopefully someone else will let you know.

Sue
 
I found a wedding dress on eBay last week that had that label as well. Nobody has found any documentation yet to certify that that is a variant of the English CC41 label. I am very keen in finding out myself. I am pretty sure it has nothing to do with American L-85 or Canadian WPTB cltohing manufacture during the war because there wasn't the same strict controls or consumer labelling -- restrictions in fabric use were for manufacturers under L85 and WPTB and clothing was sold with its regular labels. The CC41 labelling was for consumer knowledge because items bought with a CC41 label meant no sales tax was charged for their purchase. I have seen CC41 labelling on English clothing right up to 1947ish, so unless it was some very late CC41 label (clothing rationing in England lasted until 1949), it doesn't seem to be concurrent with the CC41 label. I am dying to find out myself what it means... some day we will have the answer.
 
Thanks, Sue! Thanks, Jonathan!

Not sure of the cloth yet Sue. I need to bring it out in the sun and it's rainy and dreary here right now.

Jonathan, did the style remain the same during those years or is it possible narrow down a time line based on the cut?

I'm also curious if adding weights to the cuffs was practiced back then. I may just open it up to see what it is.
 
The rules loosened up for CC41 but I don't know when yet. I have a CC41 dress from 1947 or 1948 and it looks very much like any typical post war New Look influenced 40s dress with longer and slightly fuller skirt -- too much fabric for a wartime CC41 designation. But I haven't tracked down when the rules changed and how. I am pretty sure this is some kind of utility mark but I have yet to find any reference to it that positvely identifies it and what it means. It seems to show up in post war English clothes.
 
There have been several threads on this lately, I'm fairly positive that it isn't a Utility label as some of the items I've seen with it have pre-dated Utility and been a bit too flourishy and unrestrained. I'm torn between it being some sort of dry cleaning label, or it being a 'British Made' boast - a bit like the NRA labels in the US.

I have a CC41 dress from the early 50s (possibly a cusper), fairly full skirted in black satin with gold embroidery. I'm guessing it's from just before they stopped rationing fabric. 1953 was it?

Liz
 
Thanks, Jonathan! Thanks, Liz!

I look forward to the mystery of this label being solved. Until then I'll store it away and perhaps take a peek at what they put in those cuffs.
 
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