Questions about the way a Rive Gauche tag is Sewn...

[ladyadams]

Hello,

I am wondering if anyone knows if vintage Saint Laurent Rive Gauche tags were ever hand tacked on dresses. I have a dress that has the tag sewn in this way, and I didnt think anything of it until I read a couple of threads on various sites discussing how designer tags are sometimes sewn into non designer pieces.

From what i have seen, most of the rive gauche tags are either machine sewn on with matching thread to the inner lining or facing (so that stitching is not visible on outside of the dress) or that it is sewn under the seam/facings. Like I mentioned, on my dress the label is hand tacked on.

I dont know whether or not that should be concerning; but here is what I am thinking as positive signs:

The tag could not be sewn in like first way mentioned, because dress is not lined, and stitching would show through to other side. Based on the rolled collar and how it is attached to dress with minimal seam allowance, i am not sure that the second tag insertion would make sense either. Furthermore, the tag itself has no stitchmarks on the top of the label, which leads me to believe that the tag was never sewn into/under a seam/facing.

Something that concerns me: the color of the thread on the tag. With that being said, the dress is silk, and the thread used in construction looks like it has discolored, close to the color of the stitching on the tag. Also, the tag is tacked on with a thread that is identical to the thread in the dress. (tag is actually only attached on one side, it came loose on the other side.)

I understand that this site does not authenticate, but does anyone else see the attachment of the label as concerning?

T

he dress is silk, decent construction, grossgrain waist stay, metal zipper up the side, nice shape/ well cut. Here is a photo gallery of the label/dress:

http://s1282.beta.photobucket.com/user/eviladams7/library/?page=1

I appreciate any thoughts or opinions on the attachment of the label.

Thank you!

 

[Circa Vintage Clothing]

Ladyadams, welcome to the forums. You might find this thread useful, in particular, can you please post images here rather than on external sites.

I won't usually click on external links but I've made an exception in your case, as you're new.

Rive Gauche is a ready to wear label, and so I would not expect a hand sewn label, but labels do come loose, or fall off or are removed temporarily eg, for dry cleaning (they have a habit of going missing at dry cleaners, so I'll often remove a label if it's important that it not be lost), so the hand sewing itself is not cause for concern. What bothers me more is that the label has yellow stitching on it, and your dress does not have any yellow fabric to match, although curiously it does have yellow stitching.

If the yellow stitching matches the thread in the label, I would expect it could be the right label and someone has resewn it at some point. It looks like it's in the wrong place though - I'd expect it to be sewn on the inside of the collar, a bit higher up than it is now.

It should have some more labels, probably down the side. Have you found any? That thread I linked to above has some info about posting photos here too.

 

[ladyadams]

Ladyadams, welcome to the forums. You might find this thread useful, in particular, can you please post images here rather than on external sites.

I won't usually click on external links but I've made an exception in your case, as you're new.

Rive Gauche is a ready to wear label, and so I would not expect a hand sewn label, but labels do come loose, or fall off or are removed temporarily eg, for dry cleaning (they have a habit of going missing at dry cleaners, so I'll often remove a label if it's important that it not be lost), so the hand sewing itself is not cause for concern. What bothers me more is that the label has yellow stitching on it, and your dress does not have any yellow fabric to match, although curiously it does have yellow stitching.

If the yellow stitching matches the thread in the label, I would expect it could be the right label and someone has resewn it at some point. It looks like it's in the wrong place though - I'd expect it to be sewn on the inside of the collar, a bit higher up than it is now.

It should have some more labels, probably down the side. Have you found any? That thread I linked to above has some info about posting photos here too.

Hi Nicole,
Thank you for the reply. I have visited this website many times in the past for the label guides, and was happy to come across the forums!

I am sorry for the external link, I thought about that but at the time I couldnt figure out how to post pictures in the actual post. I will take a look at the thread about posting pics.

Here is my thought about the placement of the label. Because the collar is a soft rolled collar (on the bias and no interfacing or inner layer) I think that the label would possibly show if sewn on the collar when the dress is being worn, but i could be wrong.

There are no other labels. :( The labels that were attached to the tag are missing, I am assuming that is where the content and size tag once were?

The more I look at it, the yellowish thread on the label seems to be a slightly different weight/thickness of thread; but the thread used to tack on the label looks identical to the thread used in construction.

I am going to try to figure out how to post pictures here now

 

[ladyadams]

Yay! I figured it out...