One coat, many questions

[Vintagiality]

Hi, all. I just bought a pretty large (for me) lot of designer clothing, mostly 60s and 70s Adolfo suits, skirts, and shirts, a few Geoffrey Beene caftans and a coat. My question is about the coat but just thought I'd provide the rest as context. The woman who owned these said the coat was a Lilli Ann but the label is gone (only a tiny dry clean tag remains). The outside appears to be camel hair and the lining is very thick and shiny, something like a very think satin. I spend hours online and saw at least a few swing coats very similar to this one which did have the Lilli Ann label. Here are my questions:

Is it from the 60s?
Is there a way to confirm that this is a Lilli Ann design?
Is this camel hair or mohair? (I didn't see Camel in the Fur resource)
Is the lining satin, sateen, cire or something else?
There is what looks like a single button loop at about empire waist level in front but no button or any place that looks like a button once was. What could that be?
Lastly, there are a few small rust looking spots on the back. Not hugely noticeable but I would love to remove them. Any tips?

Thank you and sorry for the long post.

Victoria

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Hi Victoria,

Stylish coat - and a nice colour. If you have a close up of the wool it will help but from what I can see, it looks like a wool blend: mohair or camel. You'll find camel listed under wool in the Fabric Resource, not the fur resource because your coat is woven, not a fur.

I think your coat is from the '70s. Do you have a pic of the remaining label? The lining does look like a nice quality satin - perhaps try a burn test if you're not sure which sort? The coat looks to be good quality so it could be silk but '70s is more likely to be polyester.

You can search for a Lilli Ann ad or the same coat with the label, but without either, you're unlikely to "prove" it's a LA, and (I hope you don't mind me saying this) people selling their old clothes aren't the most reliable providers of information. I've learnt that the hard way many times. Also, this is a classic style and there are likely to be many more companies producing it both at that time, and at others.

The single button loop at the waist band is probably to secure a tie, which comes from the other side to secure it closed in a stiff breeze.

Regarding the marks, talk to your dry cleaner but I would try gently brushing them off: wool piles can be good like that, they might be sitting on the top and so easy to remove, or if they don't go very deep, you could try cutting them off. It may be that your DC can remove them though I would have a go at the first if you can do it without damaging it.

 

[Vintagiality]

Hi Nicole,

Thank you so much for the thorough answer. I just realized that it was totally silly of my to think of camel as fur... clearly not. I am attaching a photo of the little dry clean label and a close up of the wool. As for the little loop, you are totally correct (as always) since I did find two mysterious ribbons coming out of the sleeve seam (near the underarm area) which I forgot to mention and did not connect in any way to the button loop. Now that makes sense.

Finally, I would totally agree with you on most people trying to sell clothes but I live in a resort community with some very affluent people. This lady was not selling anything she was just taking it to the thrift store and I "kindly offered" to take all these off her hands, she just made me promise I give a donation to the charity that runs the store (which I did). She apparently was a huge fan of Adolfo so I asked her if the coat was maybe also one and she said she thought it was "a Lilli Ann or something" which is why I thought this might actually be true. I will try to find some ads from the time but you are most likely correct that I can't "prove" it is one. I adore researching vintage so it was more of a sleuthing challenge that an attempt at authentication.

Thank you once again,
Victoria

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Thanks for your kind words Victoria! The extra photos are nice too.

I've seen similar tags in late '60s garments so I'm wondering if it could be a bit earlier: it can be hard with classic styles. The colour is a very '70s one though so I'm interested to see if anyone else would like to offer an opinion?

 

[Vintagiality]

Nicole, based on the close up, do you think this is camel hair or mohair?

Thanks,
Victoria

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

I can't be sure, Victoria - it's definitely a wool blend, but it's summer here so I'm a little rusty - I think it's a camel/wool combination but it may be the camel colour that's throwing it off.

 

[denisebrain]

I don't think there is any sure way to tell if there is camel or mohair in the blend. It appears to be wool fleece, and camel hair and mohair are in the wool family.

 

[cmpollack]

Nice coat! I think Nicole's right and it's likely 70s, with that colorway and wide-lapelled trench-y silhouette.

I'm no expert on camelhair, but I'd guess it's a wool blend vs pure camelhair. I have a 100% camelhair coat (tagged as such), also from the 70s, and the fabric is surprisingly thin, soft, and drapey for something so warm, and doesn't have as long a "nap" as yours.

BTW, is that a Tyrolean box purse I spy on the doorknob in your pics? I had the exact same one!

 

[Vintagiality]

Thank you, Carrie. And yes, it is a Tyrolean purse. You are good I have been researching it for a while trying to figure out if the scene is part of a known artwork. Also, I have been trying to figure out why these purses typically have a much higher value than other similar tapestry bags. Do you have any information on either of these questions?

Thank you very much.

Victoria

 

[cmpollack]

Victoria--I think it's just because Tyrolean was known for those filigreed metal frames. I think (?) they did metal and lucite combos, too, so they're collectible from that angle.