Been a while since I've posted, but eternally thankful for all of you! Help me figure out a few things please.... What decade? What purpose? What is the style of collar? Thanks!
The dress is a great color. Can you show a close up of the closures in front? To me it is a portrait collar. The style looks 1960s to me, but that style collar had a brief come back in the 80s.
Certainly.... I'm pretty surprised by how TINY it is! Like, I'm a size zero, and it is tight on me! Another thought, I'm located in the southern part of the states, in the middle of the Bible belt. I wonder if it's more of a church suit? Does anyone know by looking what the material might be? It's pretty thick yet soft, shimmering and textured.
The fabric is a faille, probably rayon or could be a poly blend or other. The decorative closures do not look typical for the 1960s, to me. I wonder if this was a home made dress made for a special occasion. I am leaning to 1980s, but really am not sure.
It's probably '80s since the union tag is the one from 1974 -1994. https://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/union-label/ Sizing has changed since the '80s so what was once a size 5/6 is now really small.
Very interesting the style does look 60s to me but those fastenings remind me of the over the top wedding (and other) attire of the 80s with lacey frou frou and faux pearls
I agree, 80s or maybe even early 90s. Love the colour, and it looks like a faille. If there's anywhere that you could snip off a little bit of the material, you could try to do a burn test to help with determing the fiber: https://vintagefashionguild.org/determining-fiber/
Thank you for the help, ladies. I've not been able to log on for a few days. But the union tag definitely helps narrow down. I thought might be an old pattern that got custom made for someone who was incredibly small. As for material. I've yet to try my first burn test. But, with all the homemade sewn dresses I've accumulated, I believe it's about time to stop being scared and just light something on fire lol.
I have picked up trepidation from people about doing a burn test to identify fabric. All those warnings to not play with fire seem to have worked. You are not starting a bonfire! And you will not turn on the smoke detector! Only a few threads may be enough. Our excellent guide includes safety precautions. https://vintagefashionguild.org/determining-fiber/ You could practice with something you know about first to get the gist of it. Go ahead and play with fire - a tiny controlled one - for a good reason. Consider it a scientific experiment. Marian
I usually do mine over the kitchen stove, with the burner turned down as low as possible. I agree with our guide that Marian linked to - tweezers are a must. In my experience, best place to snip a bit of fabric is usually along the seam at the base of a zipper - everything is reinforced there, so a few threads removed are not going to affect the integrity of the garment. First figure out if it is self-extinguishing or not. Everything else flows from there.
Is there any slit opening on the skirt...sometimes the length of that and placement can help to id the decade.
Yes actually, 9.5 inches on back. But not all of that shows, as in when you turn back the fold that is the slit, the fold extends past the actual beginning, so about 7 inches maybe.
