New here and need help with dating this garment

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Pepper Sinclair

Registered Guest
Hi! I'm new here and I need help with dating this garment that I just purchased at a thrift store. It's made of heavy silk with a woven band around the collar and the front. It fastens at the bottom with two metal hooks. The body is very tapered has a lot of shaping. On the inside there are ribbons on both sides with snap closures on them. The cuffs are very small and have 3 fabric-covered buttons. I can feel 2 triangle shaped metal objects through the fabric on the collar on either sides. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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That trimming textile is throwing me. The bolero, with its self covered buttons at the wrist, could be as early as the 1950s or as recent as the 1980s, and I suspect the 1980s because of the trimming band which looks like an African textile to me (but it may be from somewhere else - the colours are typical of African textiles, but it may be Polynesian, or something else...), so perhaps it was an added feature by the owner or the maker by request of the owner.
 
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I sure would like to handle this to be sure... the black painted hook and eye closures and snaps suggest an earlier date, and the lining looks to be silk. Is there a name on the snap? It might be there to attach a dickie or some kind of panel in the front, which is missing. It's definitely unusual, dressmaker made, and not new...The self covered buttons at the wrist are more typical of 1940s/50s, although it could be older.
 
Jonathan said:
I sure would like to handle this to be sure... the black painted hook and eye closures and snaps suggest an earlier date, and the lining looks to be silk. Is there a name on the snap? It might be there to attach a dickie or some kind of panel in the front, which is missing. It's definitely unusual, dressmaker made, and not new...The self covered buttons at the wrist are more typical of 1940s/50s, although it could be older.
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Interesting! I did find a name on the snaps, it says Prym. The lining appears to be hand sewn to the outside so I definitely agree that it was made by a dressmaker. I was also thinking it was around that date too. The band is really unusual, maybe it was a souvenir that the person has sewn on to it?
 
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My first thought was that this is a dressmaker made garment and a specialty item, some type of costume perhaps worn by a musician, etc. Dating it can be tricky for that reason alone. I agree that the trim fabric looks African or SSI inspired.
 
Prym is a German manufacturer and although you do find them in a variety of European garments (Swedish, Czech, Austrian, Dutch...) they are most commonly found in German garments.
 
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