Need help dating old dress

T

Trevor

Registered Guest
Hello,

I was recently working in my attic and found a lot of old clothing stuffed into recesses. I was hoping that someone on the forum might be able to help me date the year/decade they are from. Unfortunately, after who knows how many years, they are not in the best shape.

I have a picture of what I think is a child's dress at this site:

http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/old_dress.jpg

To give you an idea of the size, it measures 42 inches from the collar to the hem.

Thanks for any help you can give.
Trevor.
 
Hi Trevor,

It might help if you could photograph the dress on a hanger, so we could see the shape of it - also, this one is in a very bad state and it's hard to see the neckline and details but if you could tell us what material it is and include pics of any labels, that would help. Photos and information about the buttons (what they're made of) would help too. The style looks almost like a coat, rather than dress. Are the cuffs turned up or is that the sleeves that have been positioned that way?

From what I can see, I'm not sure this is a child's dress, as the length could be for a small woman - if you could tell us what the chest/bust and waist measurement is, it would help. Perhaps it's for a teenager? The fabric looks like it might be a worsted wool with a rayon twill lining but photos will help - from these materials and style it may be 1940s but as mentioned, there is not enough information provided to know.
 
Hi,

Nicole is right, we need to see it better. I do get a bit of feel that it may be circa WWI time period, with that high waist and full skirt, deep cuffs, and what looks like Military greenish brown wool. Was there a patch on the pocket that was removed, or is that a pest nibble hole?
 
Thanks for replying!

Answers to your questions:
- The cuffs look like that are made to be turned up like that. They are lined with the same material as the collar (see links below).
- it's hard to see where the neckline should be since the collar has come off but I have pegged it to a hanger in what looks like the proper position (judging by how the button-holes line up).
- the waist is also hard to tell but I tied a bit of twine around it as a belt and I think I have what looks correct (see below).
- the pockets were on the inside but have come off completely.
- there is no inner lining.

Buttons:
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/buttons.JPG

Buttons, collar and pockets:
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/group.JPG

Collar closeup:
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/collarcloseup.JPG

Inside of coat:
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/inside.JPG

Cuffs:
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/cuff_out.JPG
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/cuff_in.JPG

Trenchcoat?:
http://www.vaxxine.com/master-control/trenchcoat.JPG

Thanks again!
 
It looks like a First World War era dress to me too, c. 1917ish. They loved using military colours and styling in fashionable clothes. At first I thought this might be some kind of uniform for a war worked but not with the contrasting colour on the collar and the the decorative buttons and turn-back cuffs - those are still fashionable details for the era.
 
I found what looked like childrens clothes, a man's dress shirt, a womans cardigan, and some childrens trousers. The rest was was just crumbling and unrecognisable. None of the items had any manufacturer labels though.
 
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