Juilliard 100% Cashmere Coat Hand Tailored

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SChancey

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Juilliard label.jpg Juilliard 100% cashmere.jpgJuilliard 100% Cashmere full length ladies coat. Hoping someone can help me with history about this piece. No buttons or button holes, no belt, no belt loops, kind of cape style. Label is numbered. Hoping this was a good find from an estate sale here in Chattanooga. The main tag in the back has "The Vogue - Chattanooga, TN".
 
The Vogue was likely a store, in Chattanooga, TN.
Provided there are no moth holes or nibbles, you've done well.
I recommend freezing, thawing, and repeat, and then a professional cleaning.
Generally, you can't go wrong with cashmere, an enduring luxury fiber. This looks to be a classic, quality item!

How is the condition of the lining?
 
The lining is in perfect condition. It looks like she must have saved this for very special occassions as it looks to be brand new. I've been looking online and found this label was changed to a more modern one in the early 50's so this seems to be from before or around 1950. I just checked for any moth or insect damage and it appears to be in excellent condition. Can you elaborate on the freezing and unfreezing? What does that do? I'm in the dark about all this and appreciate your guidance. Thanks! :)
 
Excellent news, about the condition, and that would make perfect sense, as this is a coat that would be for "best".

You want to freeze to eliminate any insect larva (sorry, gross) that might be present, although undetected, to be on the safe side. The thawing and refreezing is a best practice, that is recommended by those in the know.
 
SChancey -What a pretty coat! Nice find! I have a real thing for coats, and I just love ones from that era.

Joules -How necessary is that really (freezing and refreezing)? If you don't see any hint of a problem, do you need to do it anyway? I never seem to have any activity like that or any problems with my stuff, and I have a lot, so I guess it's made me complacent. Is it because of where I live - Minnesota? I do occassionally acquire an item with minor moth damage, but I assume it happened long ago. Is this just asking for trouble? Basically, I acquire thing at a fairly high volume and am just trying to understand how much and how oftenI need to follow through with precautions, I mean, there needs to be room in my freezer for food too!
I don't mean to highjack the thread, but am just wondering about what you mentioned above.
 
Lovely coat, does it have a collar? It's hard to see details because of the black. I agree with a '50s date so if the label changed in the early '50s it must be the early part of that decade - the collar might change that as big collars were popular in the late '50s. I don't see late '40s, the line is too soft unless it had big shoulder pads that have been removed. Are the sleeves shaped into the cuff? That can suggest early '50s.

Moths just love, love, love cashmere. How much precautions you should take will be affected by your location - here in Australia, there is no place you won't find them but if Minnesota is cold with a very light summer perhaps they aren't as much of an issue there? Personally, I never take the risk but a good dry cleaning should protect: it sucks the moisture out of the textile, killing the larvae. I never assume that because I can't see anything, there isn't anything.
 
I really feel better when I have done both with woolens, dry cleaning and freezing.
If you see any moth damage at all, following cleaning, more damage may be revealed, as I believe the saliva (again, gross, apologies) holds fibers together, and cleaning dissolves it, and the true picture of damage then emerges.
I want to know the complete condition picture, before I sell my items, and as well, I want no invasion of my collection.

If you haven't room in the freezer, at least have the dry cleaning done, straight away.
As Nicole mentioned, moths are very fond of cashmere.
 
Luckily, I have an unused freezer at my business so the coat is safely freezing away at the moment. @Villa, no problem on the hijack. You asked the same questions I was thinking. @Nicole, there is a narrow collar on the coat, not wide at all. I was wondering about the professional cleaning. Do I need to make sure they follow any particular method? I am sure the cleaning will not be inexpensive. I will make sure the drycleaner has experience with vintage before leaving my prize in their hands. Thank you everyone for all the input. I am just exploring this exciting world of vintage. Estate sales have become my new obsession.
 
SChancey, my general advice is to inspect the garment carefully and do any repairs needed before you send it to the cleaner. If there are nice buttons, labels, decorations it's a good idea to remove them too but your coat looks very simple in style. The slim collar is in keeping with an early '50s dating. There's a lot of demand for vintage cashmere coats in good condition so you should do well with it. My dry cleaner would charge about $20 to do this coat, if you don't like the price you're quoted, try another cleaner. Some charge a premium for certain items.
 
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