Identifying the Age of Aquascutum Trench Coat

J

jomboy

Registered Guest
I've got this vintage (?) Aquascutum trench coat, and I'm itching to uncover its age. Unfortunately, reaching out to the company (https://aquascutum-active.com) didn't get me far—they said they couldn't help.

The only clue I've got is the royal warrant, which dates back to 1952. According to the royal warrant site (https://www.royalwarrant.org/frequently-asked-questions), it's valid up to two years after the grantor's death, which puts my coat between 1952 and 2004.

Anyone else have any ideas? I've attached some pics of the labels for reference, maybe that helps. I also noticed, that the check is close but not exactly similar to what they're sporting on their website.

Btw, was a silent reader for a while. Thanks to this community, I figured out the age of my old Barbour jacket (didn't know it was all in those first two digits on the label? ) and a pair of great vintage Florsheim shoes from the early 80s.

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thanks

the main label appears identical to the 1960s one in our label resource- doesn’t mean yours is also 60s as labels may be in use for decades,

https://vintagefashionguild.org/resources/labels/#resource_items-42

I think it’s probably not as early as 60s due to the care symbols, which weren’t in common use back then. It’s also not likely to be later than late 80s, from when there were often 5 care symbols rather than 4. None of this is set in stone though.

so perhaps 70s to 80s?

It’s such a classic style it’s hard to date by style, but others who have more understanding than me about the nuances of change in classic items may have more insight.
 
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Exciting!

Your comment made me dig a bit more:

Just found this guide: https://www.thecollectorscompanion.co.uk/features/vintage-clothing/dating-with-care/

UK care labels:

"The removal of the washing number was in 1986"
No washing number, so post 1985.

"1991 marked the date of the first International Standards Organisation (ISO) system in Europe, with the UK system merging with this in 1994"
The flat iron symbol looks similar to the one on the website in the 1990s section. Apparently they redesigned it 2012. That one looks different.
So between 1994 and 2012.

But then, I might be missing something or am on the wrong track. Only because it is made in England, doesn't mean it follows the UK or European standards, right?
 
That’s a useful guide, but you’ve misinterpreted a few things.

The washing symbol on your label means Do Not Wash. That symbol will never have had a number, either before or after 1985, as the numbers referred to washing machine cycles so aren’t relevant to this instruction. Same for a hand wash only symbol, it would never have a number.

Your iron symbol looks like the 70s one to me.

the lack of a drying symbol places it likely no later than 80s, as drying symbols started to be used then ( as per that guide, and as I said above about it having 4 rather than 5 - the 5th is the drying instructions symbol)

it’s also important to remember (and this is also stated in the introduction to that guide) that although we’d love there to be definite rules of something on a label pointing to a particular date or date range, you need to remember that there will often be exceptions. A manufacturer that has had thousands of labels printed and in might not stop using them just because there’s been a standardisation, or even a regulatory change, so they might use labels that are out of date for years, even decades, after the change. Conversely some things may be in use before they were made mandatory or before they became the standard.

jomboy said:
But then, I might be missing something or am on the wrong track. Only because it is made in England, doesn't mean it follows the UK or European standards, right?
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are you in the UK? England is part of the uk and was part of the EU until recently, so those both apply.

Stating Made In England, is no longer common though no reason it couldn’t be said today. I had an 80s Aquascutum coat that said Made In England (the label is in the label resource). If you want to dig, you could try and find out if Aquascutum still manufacture here, and if not, when they stopped.
 
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Retro Ruth said:
The washing symbol on your label means Do Not Wash. That symbol will never have had a number
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Yes, of course.

Retro Ruth said:
Your iron symbol looks like the 70s one to me.
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True. But then the one from the 90s looks similar...

Retro Ruth said:
are you in the UK? England is part of the uk and was part of the EU until recently, so those both apply.
Click to expand...
I just meant that maybe not all manufacturers opted to use the standards. Maybe Aquascutum just did not add the drying symbol although it was already available...


Retro Ruth said:
If you want to dig, you could try and find out if Aquascutum still manufacture here, and if not, when they stopped.
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Hard to say. According to Wikipedia he company went into bankruptcy and its UK factory has been closed down and sold in 2012. According to a linked article the factory was closed, sold and reopenend. So maybe 2012.
 
jomboy said:
True. But then the one from the 90s looks similar...

I just meant that maybe not all manufacturers opted to use the standards. Maybe Aquascutum just did not add the drying symbol although it was already available...
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It’s possible I suppose, but the main label appears older too, looking at those in the VFG label resource. The main label plus the care label are saying 70s-80s to me.
 
Also for some reason later labels no longer have the royal warrant. It’s possible it was rescinded but I’ve never been able to find any information on that. Or maybe it was only used on ‘water proof garments’ as per the warrant text on the label, and therefore it doesn’t appear on say wool coats or blazers.
 
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