Back in the somewhat shady part of my vintage clothing knowledge again...
This dress pulls on without fastener except for 6 tiny covered buttons on each sleeve cuff. I assume a panel or some sort of thing filled in the front V, perhaps to match the white silk sleeve cuff liners. (I am showing the dress with a tank top beneath.) There are deep what-I-think-I-should-call flanges at the shoulders. The attached belt is top stitched in rows and has a weighty buckle (possibly brass under the fabric). The label is near the hem, and in fact is partly covered by the raised hem: Maison Arcus - Madame Linoff (?) - Shanghai Chine. I found an intriguing reference to a Russian jewelry shop in Shanghai by the name Maison Arcus in a book search on Amazon.
My best estimate for the date is about 1921, but I'm totally unsure. The belt is hanging a bit down because the size is larger, but it is still a little bit low at the waist, about a 17" waist length.
The dress is silk, and it is meticulously made with a fair amount of hand sewing. The hem was raised not at all in front, but the dress originally had a hem which sloped down about 2.5" more in back. This was brought up to the front hem length. That sounds kind of late 20s to me. I'm in need of :help:
(Please!)
There's also this ancient looking dry cleaning tag:
This dress pulls on without fastener except for 6 tiny covered buttons on each sleeve cuff. I assume a panel or some sort of thing filled in the front V, perhaps to match the white silk sleeve cuff liners. (I am showing the dress with a tank top beneath.) There are deep what-I-think-I-should-call flanges at the shoulders. The attached belt is top stitched in rows and has a weighty buckle (possibly brass under the fabric). The label is near the hem, and in fact is partly covered by the raised hem: Maison Arcus - Madame Linoff (?) - Shanghai Chine. I found an intriguing reference to a Russian jewelry shop in Shanghai by the name Maison Arcus in a book search on Amazon.
My best estimate for the date is about 1921, but I'm totally unsure. The belt is hanging a bit down because the size is larger, but it is still a little bit low at the waist, about a 17" waist length.
The dress is silk, and it is meticulously made with a fair amount of hand sewing. The hem was raised not at all in front, but the dress originally had a hem which sloped down about 2.5" more in back. This was brought up to the front hem length. That sounds kind of late 20s to me. I'm in need of :help:
(Please!)
There's also this ancient looking dry cleaning tag:
your shoes