Oscar de la Renta Outfit - Sorry Pic Heavy

jauntyrooster

jauntyrooster

Alumni
Hello All,

I picked up this OdlR number today and am a little nervous. It is most I have ever paid for something so praying I didnt mess up. It really caught my eye and I did a lot of pondering before purchase. Finally another woman started eyeballing so had to make a move...

I am hoping for some help with following:

Outfit has the ILGWU label that I believe was used from 1963 to 1974. I want to make sure I am good on dating - thinking late 60s or possibly early 70s.

I am terrible with fabric and this might sound a little stupid but here goes. Is it safe to assume that Oscar de la Renta would be using velvet (not velour)?

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the ribbon at the bottom of the dress looks wrong to me. I have attached some pics but it just seems off - wondering if someone used in order shorten dress. I am pondering having fixed as I hate it so much but need to ensure I can recoup my investment.

Dress is sleeveless with back back zipper. Dress is lined to about where the decoration starts at bottom. Whole outfit is fairly heavy as you can imagine - I believe you could ward off a sword attack when wearing this coat! :USEROCKY:

Sorry for long post but all input is appreciated and welcomed. For second time today, a most sincere thank you.

Maureen

Front View

fullview.jpg


Back View

backview.jpg


Bodice View Closeup

bodice.jpg


Label

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Ribbon at Bottom of Dress (2 pics)

ribbonatbottom.jpg


ribbonatbottom2.jpg
 
Hi,

I am not the expert on this one at ALL. But I did want to ask, what is it made of. You did not say, so is it velvet, velveteen, or is it a velour? What are the gold thingies made of? Are they metal or plastic? The "velvet" fabric has a sort of synthetic look to it in the close ups.

I don't see 1960's at all, not even 1970's. Looks 80's to me? Maybe 90's? Ready To Wear, definitely not "couture" and perhaps (?)a bridge line. And you are right the hem looks very "off" and odd. the dress reminds me of something a middle age woman would wear to a special evening event, purchased at a specialty shop or higher end department store?

So I am no help at all, am I? But it does not look to be one of the more valuable ODLRs to me.
 
pic and additional info

This is pic of the ILGWU label on outfit. Was hoping this would help confirm dating but perhaps not...

Agree looks very 80s to me but OdlR label and ILGWU are throwing me off. Came from estate of woman who had nothing but Halston (the old, good Halston), Pauline T., Hattie C., and a few custom made items that were quite amazing.

Material is VERY soft and feels like velvet to me. I compared to some other items that I know are velveteen (like my hat Rue :) and velour and this definetely has different feel. Having said that, I am really not well versed in materials. My photos are not doing the outfit, particularly the material, justice. It is a really odd outfit though - probably why I was drawn to it!

Gold studs are not solid metal but I believe they are some sort of metal - not plastic. They are cold to the touch if that helps.

Thanks again all!
 
This is likely very late 60s to early 70s, in my opinion. The red, white, and blue ILGWU label was implement in 1974, so this is pre then. But even without seeing the union label, I was inclined to that dating. The neckline and the trim around it look quite 60s to me, but the collar and the gold embellishment look 70s. I have at least one 1960's cocktail dress downstairs with that neckline and treatment! Those matching long jackets and vests were also very popular in that same timeframe. I'm no expert on ODLR, but if I had to try and pin down the dating, I'd guess 1968 or 69 to 1972. The fabric looks like a short-napped velvet--not velveteen or velour, and is probably rayon velvet, not silk velvet. Velveteen would not be as soft as velvet. Without actually seeing and feeling it in person, I can't be sure about the fabric, but that's what it looks like to me.

Hope this helps!
 
I think the late 60sness will come through clearly when you show the dress without the jacket (and with the hem re-hemmed), in which case it'll shout *glam cocktail* more loudly. Without a moving body in it, the jacket is making it look a little solid and square.
 
You are correct in dating this as late 1960's - 1970 Maureen. 1968 would be my guess but I can understand the urge to move this into the next decade because of the colour combination. The ornamental/ethnic/Russian/Moroccan inspired design is a bit of a trademark which Oscar de la Renta has used throughout his career so this is a very nice example. The Empire 'style' bodice keeps this in the late 60's. I'd also love to see the dress without the coat so the A line or the simple straight shift shape can be seen. Velvet was a very popular fashion fabric. The top-stitching on the collar looks really good. Always check the finishing quality on the sewing.

The finished dress hem should be a little shorter than the coat. Maybe the hem had been damaged? To let it down with a false hem would make sense. I can't quite see what's going on with the reverse i.e. the lining.

On the velour discussion and re:another thread recently - velour has a stretch knit background doesn't it? Am I wrong?
 
Dress without Jacket Pic

Here is dress without jacket. It is clipped in back otherwise looked like a square sack on the manni. Also a pic of the jacket snapped and with the sash (which I forgot to mention earlier). Dress reminds me of a roman soldiers uniform for some reason - think it is the band around the waist maybe.

I cant really address the hemming issue very much - it is really strange. The dress hangs so much lower than the jacket that they had plenty of room and material to do a finished hemline. Letting it down seems strange and taking it up this way doesnt make much sense either. Possibly they just weren't talented enough to do right?

Thanks to everyone who has posted and opined...learning a ton! Hope not beating a dead horse with more pics but am so interested to learn more. Cant wait to get on our live model...and also to get it in shape so that it lays right. Has some creasing that needs to be worked out.

Dress alone:

dresswojacket.jpg


Dress with Jacket Snapped w/Sash

jacketwsash.jpg
 
There are several types of velour. Velours is the French word for velvet. There is a knit velour that does have some stretch and there is also woven velour, sometimes called plush velour which is a cut pile fabric. It can be plain or patterned and the amount of the surface weight and nap can vary.

Velour is used in clothing, toweling and as an upholstery fabric, particularly in the transportation industry. This is probably way more technical than anyone wants to read but I thought it was interesting.

http://www.tx.ncsu.edu/jtatm/volume3issue4/Articles/Powell/manley_full.pdf

I am not sure if your dress is velvet or velour but it is definitely late '60's and very, very nice!

Linn
 
It can't be before 1969 because his label didn't exist until then. The midi length with the heavy embroidery in a medieval style goes with all that Mediterranean Spanish furniture of the early 70s. I would say its c. 1970-73, which fits in with the ILGWU label as well as when Oscar was working under his own label.
 
Is general consensus that it is worth the expense of fixing - from a "return on investment" perspective? Not asking for a valuation but rather general thoughts on whether this item is worth the time, effort, and cost.

I hate that ribbon! :)

Thanks again to all - much appreciated.
 
Hi,

I did not even look at the collar, and I can now see it is indeed wide, more 70's. And now seeing it without the coat, it looks very 70's. Duh on me. I should not have even commented on this one, really as it is not my area of expertise.

Just to add to the velvet/velveteen/velour topic....Velvet can be made of many fibers, silk, rayon, polyester, etc. Technically, when velvet is made of cotton it is then called Velveteen and never referred to as velvet. So, cotton velvet=velveteen. As mentioned above, velour can be many types of things, including a wonderful range of fur- felts used strictly for hat making.

I hope someone can pin down the date on this outfit, it is quite eye catching.

B
 
While I am not, by any means, the expert that Jonathan is, I did live through this era and remember it well (I was slightly too young to have been in a drug-induced stupor during those years). So, his opinion of 1970 to 1973 and mine of 1968/69 to 1972 would, I should think, put this at around 1972.... Though I think it's probably impossible to pinpoint it with that precision--I'm guessing Jonathan's range is dead on.
 
It looks to me like the hem on the dress has just come down. Can you detect a fold mark where the hem was originally folded up? The dress should be the same length as the coat, or about 1/2" shorter.

I don't know what your investment was, but you have a good eye! This set is drop-dead gorgeous. I love it!
 
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