NEW PICS PINK Beaded Dress Diana Warren England Still need help Please

Bombshell*Frocks

Bombshell*Frocks

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I have a lot of pictures as usual.... sorry gals but I need help with this stunning dress....

LONG POST....READ On....Please :kiss2:

I believe it is from the 50's 60's but it has a nylon zipper that is hand stitched in, sloppily I might add and totally not in tune with the quality of craftsmanship on the dress. Plus the zipper looks like one of those cheap ones you buy at the fabric store...

The label says Mayfair 2086 but the 6 is much larger than the rest of the numbers, I am confused...Then it says Diana Warren 101. New Bond St. W.I.

The label resource says......
Diana Warren wasn't a designer but a fashion boutique located on the Promenade at Blackpool from the 50s to the 70s. It was one of the main outlets in the north of England at that time.
They used to sell Dior and other such designers but removed the labels and sewed in their own in their place. One of the lesser-known designers used by Diana Warren was Robert Dorland - a London based designer of the 50s and 60s who made elegant bright and colourful daywear and sophisticated highly detailed eveningwear. Robert Dorland had his own label too.

They moved into the centre of Blackpool around the 1980s but seem to have now ceased to exist.

All hand beaded with glass beads and sequins...IN PINK and Silver on PINK SILK...and pinked and finished seams.

It has some missing beads on the bodice that is noticeable, should I replace them? If the zipper has been replaced, should I put a metal zipper back in?
Please, I need your wonderful input and ideas....


TIA~Tori

I took new and improved pictures.

<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20A.jpg"><P>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20D.jpg"><p>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20F.jpg"><img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20G.jpg"><p>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20M.jpg"><img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20N.jpg"><p>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20O.jpg"><p>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20P.jpg"><p>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20S.jpg"><p>
<img src="http://images.channeladvisor.com/Sell/SSProfiles/30030714/Images/Diana%20Warren%20T.jpg"><p>
 
Wow! Mayfair 2086 is probably the 'phone number. I've not seen that label before, and understand the confusion.. hopefully another brit will stop by that may be able to help. One for the resource there Tori.

The dress is just beautiful, looks 60s to me. Are there any beads anywhere that you could use to fill in the gaps, or would they be modern replacements? I've found it so hard to get beads like that. As for the zip, I don't know. If it's really obviously a bad job and not original then maybe, but depends how much you want to spend I suppose.
 
The phone number? Wow....Really?

I can leave the zipper, its just loose in a few places which I can stitch up. There are extra beads on the inside seams where it was taken in a bit that I could use but I dont want to risk removing them unless I secure the thread where I snip it and that would be a pain...I have so much stuff here that I am sure I could find some glass beads to match up, plus there is a craft store here in town that sells vintage glass beading and rhinestones.

Cant wait to hear from some other brits here and their input.

Thanks so much, Tori
 
Originally posted by flashbak58

The label resource says......
Diana Warren wasn't a designer but a fashion boutique located on the Promenade at Blackpool from the 50s to the 70s. It was one of the main outlets in the north of England at that time.
They used to sell Dior and other such designers but removed the labels and sewed in their own in their place. One of the lesser-known designers used by Diana Warren was Robert Dorland - a London based designer of the 50s and 60s who made elegant bright and colourful daywear and sophisticated highly detailed eveningwear. Robert Dorland had his own label too.
Click to expand...

Robert Dorland Ltd:- It was I think, there is no trace of him or any one trading under that name at the present time, companies house which is where you have to register ltd's.

Promenade at Blackpool :- I think it was Queens Promenade at the north end of Blackpool the posh end could have been in a hotel.

Not a lot of help oce again.
 
It is very heavy Linda, I think I will have the zipper replaced to avoid any problems as the nylon one is not a very good one and I have a hard time zipping and unzipping it anyway.

So with the longer length, you think 60's? I was thinking 50's on it myself.

So....if this boutique was known for removing designer labels god only knows what designer made this dress, any clues you guys?

I will take some inner construction shots of it tomorrow or Sunday, or whenever I get some free time, been very busy here and my youngest son just rolled into town from Panama City Beach, to STAY for good! YIPPIE!

Tori
 
Tori, that is so lovely! The color, the beading, the shapely styling. I think 60's as well, but I'm not sure it would have had a metal zipper originally. Even If that nylon zipper is a replacement, it doesn't necessarily mean there was a metal one. It might have had a very good nylon zip on it when it was made. I would replace the beading for sure. But I might be tempted to restitch and neaten up the zipper as needed, for I think it might be difficult to install a new zipper in that fabric. You'd have to hand stitch it in, too, because of the beading. Do you think if the zipper were tightly in place it would zip up & down better? If not, then you probably should replace it, but if making it more taut helps, perhaps you don't need to.
 
Tori, am I seeing a whopper stain on the lap area there, or is it a camera trick?

I would say metal or nylon, if the zip is in sloppy, have it replaced or secured better. Parties are not the place to pop out of dresses...unless that's what the wearer was hired for!
 
Thanks Chris, I am so happy he is home.

Yup, there was a light stain down the bodice and front of the skirt so I soaked the dress in cold water w/tide and it all came out, thank god!

I am going to leave the zipper and just restitch the sections that came undone, also I don't think the fact that this dress having a nylon zipper replacement is going to make it less desirable, anyone knowing vintage can see that it is a replacement, the old zipper was a bit longer and I can see the old stitch marks left by the removal.

Oh! and yesterday I found at Joannes Fabrics the exact color and size glass bugle beads I needed to replace the ones missing!

~Tori
 
I added this label to the resource, but I'm a little confued. This is a London Label, right? So if anyone knows if there were 2 store or what?? please let me know so I can adjust the label info accordingly.

Lizzie
 
Hi Lizzie, I don't know if it is a London Label or not, Harriet may know the answer to that, hopefully. :)

I spent most of the day getting this dress ready to list, the bead work came out beautiful but what a JOB! At first it was just the small area on the bodice that was missing some beads but then I found along the zipper it was missing beads, probably from when they replaced the zipper so I beaded those areas as well, then I tied off any loose threads and re-stitched the zipper, all this by hand. Whew!! I'm beat.

I found some amazing construction details on this dress that I will have to share with you guys when I retake the pictures, I'm pretty sure that this dress had to have been done by a big name designer.

Any ideas just by looking at it?

~Tori
 
Last bump...:USING:

Ok, spent all day working on this dress and am ready to list, just wanted to show you how it came out.

Also, I discovered that under the armpits there is a threaded loop that the elastic bust strap goes through to keep it from showing.

Any ideas on a designer I can compare this beauty to?

TIA, ~Tori
 
Definitely a London label, Lizzie. London W1 is the West End, so that would be correct for a Mayfair address/phone no.

I just googled the address and funnily enough it now houses Bonhams, the auction house, and is down the road from Sotheby's! Infact if you look on their website you can see the building: http://www.bonhams.com/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/pubweb/publicSite.r?screen=newbondstreet

Shall keep looking for info later today. Found another dress with the same label though, so it would appear there were indeed 2 stores?

Tori I wish I knew who to compare it to, as I see what you mean - definitely high end! Can't wait to see the updated pictures.
 
Thanks Harriet and Deborah,
I just hope santa's helper, helps. :)

I looked 101 Bond St up as well and found that it was located in London and came to the same conclusion that there must have been 2 stores. I listed it without comparing it, it should sell on it's own merits.

Harriet, I replaced the pictures in this thread with the new ones.
 
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