Question about a vintage label/ tags.

I got this cool dress and it actually just sold! It's late 60s in look and feel with a zipper down the front but I couldn't find any info on the label and the tags are still on and it's an old mays department store tag. I'd like to just know for my personal info about dating the tag, what were those little holes used for? Also the size is 24 and a half which is funny I didn't realize half sizes were a thing I posted pics of the dress itself just for fun so you guys can see it!

also how do I get musty smell out of the dress before shipping since I obviously can't wash it with tags on. It's my first sale and I wanna make it perfect. Thank you!

 

Isn't it so fun when you find something with the tags still on? I can guess that the little holes were probably something to identify the piece, like a proto barcode, but then again, I' m only guessing. For the musty smell half demineralized water ( the one you put in an iron), half vodka, put it in a spray container and nebulize on the dress. It sounds strange but it works just fine! Of course, try it on a small portion of the dress before. personally, i prefer to do this having the dress inside out. You can never be careful enough!

 

I remember half sizes being used in the USA for women's plus garments. Now we use 14W, 16W, etc.
Yes, I do believe it's possible the holes in the paper hangtags were an early computerized form of coding. I remember in high school (late 1970s) the computer we used in our computer programming class spat out a ticker tape with holes like that.

 

Donna's right: the holes are an early computerised form of coding. This is how I learnt about computers in the late '70s too, it was quite laborious. It helps to date your tags.

I always wash everything, old stock, worn or unworn but if you've already sold it, I would just air out as MJ suggests. By washing it now (or applying anything like vodka) there's a small risk that it may change in some way, eg just removing decades of dust might change the colour slightly. I'm sure your buyer is prepared for it and as it looks like a polyester knit she can just machine wash it at her end.

 

Thank you ladies! I find this stuff absolutely fascinating I love all the historic clues and why things are and were the way they were vintage clothes have opened up a whole new world for my and tapped into my love for history.

I didn't spray anything on the dress but I did air it out a bit other then the slight must smell it's in perfect condition and I did pin it to the mannequin purely for display reasons so it didn't look sloppy. It's a really adorable dress if it fit me I would have kept it.

If the dress were from the 60s/early 70s which I'm pretty sure it is, a size 24 1/2 would be equivalent to what modern day size? I advertised it as a 16 modern size due to what I measured with my tape. Is that accurate?