is this swing coat late 50s or early 60s?

[laurenm]

Thinking early 60s but it is quite 'full' in the a-line?
Any thoughts?
thanks for any help. Excuse my pallid model....gotta sort out that exposure stuff!
Lauren

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Nice coat Laurenm - my first thought was very early '60s too but if you can tell us how long it is, that might put it into the very late '50s.

 

[laurenm]

It is 38.5 inches from the top of the shoulder seam to the hem....it's a really beautiful soft wool weave.....the collar is just 'tacked' down but looks original.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

That is a lovely coat. I agree it is a bit difficult to pin down the exact year. That trapeze style of coat was introduced by Saint Laurent while he was at Dior in 1958, and as we know, variations of it remained very popular through the 1960s. Because it is a fuller cut and has a fur collar, my initial reaction was right around 1960 -1962. But as Nicole has mentioned, it could be very late 1950s. Or even mid 60s. Sorry to not be able to pin it down, maybe someone else will come along with their thoughts.

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Thank you - any sign the hem has been taken up? This length puts it into the early '60s, '60-62 as Barbara suggests.

 

[furwise]

Pretty coat. I am in agreement with both Nicole and Barbara. It could be late 50s but with the smaller collar, sleeve length, and shape combined I think it's more likely to date to the early 60s.

 

[BonniesVintageClothesLine]

The sleeve length makes me think early 1960s. It's a lovely coat and would look stunning with a pair of opera length gloves!

 

[laurenm]

@ Nicole....looking really closely I think it's possible that the hem was shortened and also possibly the sleeves.....I am NO sewer (another life perhaps or next year when things settle down whichever comes first).....because it's been nicely done.....but the 'seam' bw the lining on the front edge of the coat looks almost seamless....not sure what the term is but there's almost no evidence of a seam it's so smooth....but if I pull gently on the hem lining edge or that of the sleeve I can see what I would call 'basting' stitches that look hand sewn and are in that triangley zig zag.....

Thanks Bonnie, when I redo the photos I'll be sure to add some gloves in....although my daughter is trying to steal this one!

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Since we are discussing sleeve length as a clue, I find the length of the sleeves is just fine for late 1950s and does not necessarily place the coat in the 1960s. That is what is making it harder (for me) to date this to a specific year. The sleeves can go in either decade. Right now I am looking more at the small fur collar as the thing that is throwing this into the early 1960s time period. So, that begs the question....is the fur collar original to the coat?

 

[furwise]

I think the collar is original. It looks like a standard double collar with the inside portion being the same fabric and one with the coat, then the mink fur collar atop and tacked down, and it looks like it's a perfect fit with the button being placed properly below.

Both the sleeve length and the small collar were seen on occasion on trapeze coats in 1958. In fact when viewing old ads I did find one with a small collar(not the same type of collar but still small) and similar length sleeves from November of 1958 but I was only able to find the one prior to the 60s which again lines up I think with the possibility remaining that it could be late 50s but is more likely to be from the early 60s.

 

[Rue_de_la_Paix]

Caryn,

When you said "I was only able to find the one prior to the 60s", can you define what you refer to with the word "one"? Do you mean you only found 1 trapeze coat, or you found only 1 trapeze coat with that length sleeves? I have seen numerous 1958-1959 trapeze coats with this same length sleeve (as a matter of fact most had this length sleeve or shorter), so perhaps you mean you found only 1 trapeze coat that had BOTH that same small collar and length of sleeves? Sorry if I am muddy headed on your meaning.

The collar does seem the best clue right now.

 

[laurenm]

okay, so the collar is mink on one side and the exact same wool fabric on it's backing as the rest of the coat....really looking at it carefully I'm almost certain the sleeves and hem have been shortened....very expertly tho!

 

[furwise]

Sure. It's not you Barbara. It's me and it usually is..haha. I was not clear enough in my last post. I found many trapeze coats in 1958 in the newspaper ads I was looking at but I could only find that one newspaper ad prior to the 60s that had both the similar length sleeves and a small collar combined.
I do think there were others out there. I just think the combination of all was just more common in the early 60s.