Little Black Dress...date and...anyone heard of Carol Craig?

E

ehappy

Registered Guest
Perhaps if you know this maker? I did a forum search and general search for this tag but nothing comes up. I'm thinking 50's BUT the only thing that's throwing me off is it has finished seams, not pinked. You might be able to see in the pic it has an overlaid skirt on top of a slim fitting skirt. Is there a name for that aside from tiered? Nice quality - fully lined in black satiny material, metal painted zip. Also, how do I identify the fabric?

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Thanks!
 
I haven't heard of Carol Craig but the finished seams suggests to me that it was probably a higher end garment and possibly silk rather than rayon but its hard to guess on the material without handling it although it has a glow of silk in the pics which rayon doesn't have. I would be inclined to think its more likely early 60s. Those tiered skirts are popular around 1963ish
 
I think l have a Carol Craig somewhere...or l may have sold it..l think she was a british maker.
 
If you can find some unfinished seam allowance somewhere, you can snip a little and do a burn test. It doesn't take much.

Laura
 
I've heard the Carol Craig name, and/or seen something with that label, but know nothing about it. I agree with Jonathan that it "looks" like silk, though I have seen some finely textured linens from around that era that have a sheen and look like a slubbed silk. If you can't tell by the feel, try a burn test if you can find any small bit of fabric to snip.

It is looking to me like it could be late 50s or very early 60's.
 
I went to the RN# databasesearch and typed in Carol Craig as the company. What came up were an rn# and a WPL#.

This information is from the RN thread on Ebay:

"WPL numbers were issued from 1941 through 1959 under the Wool Products
Labeling Act. WPL numbers begin at 00101 and end at 13669. All numbers issued subsequently are RN numbers.

RN numbers were issued under the Fur Products Labeling Act from 1952
through 1959. These numbers start at 00101 and continue to 04086. Beginning in 1959, all numbers issued are RN under the combined act and commence with 13670. The final number contained in this edition is 112208. Complete rules and regulations under the Wool Act,Fur Act, and the Textile Fiber Products Identification Act can be obtained by writing to Textile Section, Division of Enforcement, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue. NW,Washington, D.C. 20580."



Detail Information

RN# issued in 1966 (this does not date your dress). It only estimates when the RN# was issued to the company. It can be used as a guide only.

RN Type: RN
RN Number: 20592
Legal Name: CAROL CRAIG FASHIONS INC
Company Name: CAROL CRAIG FASHIONS INC
Business Type: IMPORTER,WHOLESALER,MANUFACTURING
Address Line 1: 501 7TH AVE
City: NEW YORK
State Code: NY
Zip: 10018
Product Line:
Issued Date: 06-AUG-1998


Detail Information

RN Type: WPL
RN Number: 1734
Legal Name: CAROL CRAIG FASHIONS INC
Company Name: CAROL CRAIG FASHIONS INC
Business Type: UNKNOWN
Address Line 1: 501 7TH AVE
City: NEW YORK
State Code: NY
Zip: 10018
Product Line:
Issued Date: 06-AUG-1998

Is there either an RN# or WPL# label on your dress? That would help pinpoint this a bit closer for you.
 
Sara makes a good point -- pinked seams are also typically American so it could have been made in England and Carol Craig is listed as an importer...
 
Thanks, all for the information. I've found some pieces and the tag looks different than mine in that they say "Carol Craig New York" so I knew the New York connection.

About that burn test - how do I do it and what will it tell me? Am I looking for a certain odor to tell me it's silk or not?

Thanks!
 
Alrighty I burned it. Actually, it smelled like barbque and it was a bit hard to burn. It didn't like go up in flames. :) Would that make it not silk?
 
mmmmmm.... BBQ! :drool:

Well, if it were silk it would have burned as fast as a strand of hair and smelled just the same. No BBQ.

Sounds like it's a blend or rayon.

The "Burn Experts" will help you ID the BBQ smell.

Janine
 
The burn test breaks down to two main branches, those that take off when lit and keep a flame or smolder going until they burn out the portion of fabric, and those that you light and they go out, light, go out. That would be not self-extinguishing and self extinguishing respectively.

If yours smelled like a burnt meat and kept a flame for a good time, then you've got acrylic. Probably. You also have to look at the remnants of the burnt bit....hard black blob or hard bead, lace-like ash, black ash, tan bead...they all indicate a different thing.

It takes a while to get the knack of burn testing. I frequently brush up by choosing a snippit on something that is labeled (new silk and old silk smell the same). You have to train your nose, so to say, to catch the funk of the smoke. Same thing with hot water testing Bakelite and Celluloid. I keep a button around of each to compare to if needed, since it's few and far between that I get the stuff.

Handy burn tip, needle nose plyers or medical scissor-like clamps do nicely to hold your snippit. Fingers, not so much.


Burn some pure polyester double knit sometime. Preetttyyyy.
Jenn
 
Man, this is starting to sound like a pot luck dinner gone bad! :no:

Did you taste the remnant? if it tastes like pork, then it's acrylic. If it tastes like burnt raspberries with a hint of mint, then you know it's rayon for sure! :USETHUMBUP:

Janine
 
I'm by no means an expert on burn testing, but I have done quite a few tests, and your fabric does not sound like it's silk, or at least not pure silk. Once you burn tested silk, it's easy to recognize again.

I'm inclined to say you have a blend there--not sure of what. Silk/rayon, or linen/rayon. The look of your dress still seems to indicate that there is some natural fiber in there.
 
I'm all for clinking a bead on my teeth to determine if it's glass or plastic but I'm SOOOO not eating fabric. lol. I knew you were kidding.

:)
 
Laura, thank you for the chart.

I'm going to go with some type of blend. By the way, another question. When did they start placing 'hanger loops' in the shoulders to help the garment stay on the hanger?
 
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