Opinions on dress dating?

plousia

plousia

Registered Guest
So my first impression of this cute sundress was 60s, but the more I look at it the more I've started doubting myself and wondering whether it might be earlier.

It has no labels, but I think it's probably commercially made as it does have some overlocking on the inside of the button panel and around the inside top of the bodice where the fabric is turned over. The rest of the seams are pinked or raw. The hem is done in that stitch you frequently see in vintage garments, not sure what it's called.

Opinions would be welcome as I'm really puzzling over this one.
 

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plousia said:
Interesting; the construction doesn't seem 80s to me, but I've certainly been wrong before.
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I can see why you thought 60s. By both the style and the construction. I think this may be later and home sewn.

Over lockers became available to home sewers I think in the 60s, but probably weren’t common back then. However by the 80s 90s it’s not unusual to find overlocking on a home sewn garment.

I’m fairly certain this hem stitch is done by hand, so although you are right it’s common in older garments, no reason a home sewer wouldn’t use this technique today.

The print looks later to me, I can’t quite see it as 60s. I could be wrong though.

I could see this as 80s or later, in a retro style.
 
I'm kind of confused about all the 80s opinions. What is making people think that, the print? To me, the construction seems right for early 60s, and as mentioned, the thread burn tests as cotton. The Occam's razor conclusion would seem to be that it's earlier. I don't see 80s at all, though I've certainly been wrong before, so I'm wondering what exactly gives that impression? Still learning here...
 
I also immediately thought it was from the 80s. The main giveaway as far as I’m concerned is the fabric. Fabrics like that, with a bright acid color combined with black, and often a graphic print, were very popular in the 80s. That style of sundress is pretty timeless, and the fact that it’s cotton does not in any way indicate earlier. Most sundresses were made of cotton in the 80s. The buttons also look 80s to me, especially the fact that they used the lime color instead of matching with the white. It’s altogether too new wave looking for the 60s.
 
Thanks for the explanation, I appreciate it. The thread I was referring to is the sewing thread, not the material itself. I'm also not used to seeing pinked seams or hand sewn hems in 80s dresses. I don't think it is home made, but it might be. I will sit on this one for a while! I appreciate the opinions.
 
I just decided to burn test the interfacing you can see in the last photo. It's only around the inside of the bodice top. It is cotton as well, a lightweight open weave. Weren't interfacings from the 70s/80s onward mostly that artificial stuff?
 
Yes as @Jen S says for me it’s mainly the print, she’s described well why I instinctively felt it couldn’t be 60s.

While artificial fibres can be used to rule out an earlier date, natural fibres can never be used to confirm an early date. They don’t disappear even if they become less common.

it being homemade, which I think likely, explains both the pinking and the hand sewn hem.
 
True, but to me it's sort of a preponderance of evidence thing - the construction and materials are all right for earlier, and I do see what people mean about the print, but I'm not seeing it as not possible for the 60s (although I am not an expert obviously!) The brown and yellow seems more 60s than 80s? Even the bit of overlocking seems in line with what commercial garments seem to have started doing before it began to be used for everything. But as mentioned, I'm going to sit on it for a bit since so many people are convinced otherwise. If only these garments could talk!
 
I used to sew a lot of my own clothes and I always sourced and used natural fibers and thread because I preferred it. Also most households would keep around a lot of older fabrics and notions, and one would often use older things just because one had them.

I’m guessing you’re not old enough to have been shopping in the 80s. It’s easier to have a “feel” for the age of a garment when you actually remember that decade!
 
Jen S said:
I’m guessing you’re not old enough to have been shopping in the 80s. It’s easier to have a “feel” for the age of a garment when you actually remember that decade!
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LOL no, I was born in 1980 and I was a major tomboy as well. Not interested in clothes at all and hated wearing dresses and skirts! So I was both not old enough to be clothes shopping and not paying attention to them.

How common would it be for a home sewer to use both older material and techniques, along with a newer technique like overlocking? I'm still not seeing this dress as home made, but it certainly could be. I can't find any remnants of a label, for example.
 
I don’t really know how common it would be, but I will say that back when a lot of people sewed, most people kept a stash around of fabrics and notions. So, for example, I would often raid my mother‘s supply of stuff, most of which was 10 to 20 years older than the stuff I would buy new at the fabric store. It was especially common for me to use older thread and buttons and the like. This was back when people tried not to waste stuff!

In any case I agree with you, this dress doesn’t look homemade to me. But I don’t think those construction details were gone by the 80s.
 
Not gone for sure, but in a commercial garment I've never seen them in something from the 80s - even by the 70s it seems pinked and raw seams were mostly gone.

What's convinced me I was wrong about the 80s garments I've had that I thought were earlier was burn testing the thread and finding it to be polyester. And those were all home made. If this is commercially made, it seems extremely improbable it would be using cotton thread and interfacing in the 80s.

There just seem to be too many incongruities for it to be later...but I highly respect the collective wisdom of this forum and you all have certainly convinced me on things I've been wrong about before!
 
As a long-time home sewer, I disagree that this is home sewn. For instance, the loopy-stitch hem treatment is not, IMHO, hand done. The sewing techniques on this dress are (forgive my bluntness) of the type used on low end fast fashion of the time, think KMart. I'm still convinced it's 1980s. I was in my late teens/twenties during most of the 80s, buying affordable/cheap clothing, a lot of it made in the same way. I had an all cotton yellow and white summer dress that was very like.

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The Vintage Vendeuse said:
As a long-time home sewer, I disagree that this is home sewn. The loopy-stitch hem treatment is not, IMHO, hand done. The sewing techniques on this dress are (forgive my bluntness) of the type used on low end fast fashion of the time, think K-Mart. I'm still convinced it's 1980s. I was in my late teens/twenties during most of the 80s, buying affordable/cheap clothing, a lot of it made in the same way. I had an all cotton yellow and white summer dress that was very like.

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This explanation makes a lot of sense, I could see that. It doesn't seem to be very well made as there are a few unsewn seam sections I have to mend (not that that's super uncommon with vintage).

By the way I don't know if anyone noticed, I didn't for quite a while, but it appears the oblong shapes with the yellow squiggles in the print are bananas. It's very fun.
 
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