The "Ascendo" regd. shirt 40's? check shirt men's or women's?

Pinkcoke

Pinkcoke

Alumni
Now, I know there is some button fastening rule that would say whether this is a man or a women's shirt but I can't for the life of me work it out, even after reading the descriptions, because none of them say if they're talking about which side the buttons are sewn on or done up.
But there are several things about this shirt that are indicating to me that it has at least been worn by a woman: the neck is quite small to begin with (13.5-14") and fastens tightly with the original button and loop under the collar, there are only three buttons on the front all above the waist - suggesting it was supposed to be worn tucked into a skirt? unless you know of trousers that went that high; and the buttons at the wrist have been moved to make the cuffs very small indeed; just over 6". It has those flat finished seams throughout and the buttonholes have been stitched with two contrasting colours which is a nice detail.
I have done a Google news archive search and trademark searches but I haven't found anything about 'The "Ascendo" regd. shirt' even though it sounds distinctly like a brand that would have been advertised, have you come across it before?
The only reason I'm going with 40's is that the collar shape is identical to that on the 40's dressing gown I posted previously, having said that, did men's wear get the same pointed collar? I haven't handled any shirts before so this is a new area to me. The fabric feels like thick cotton with wool or possibly all wool. We thought it interesting that after ensuring that the checks would line up at the main fastening the pocket appears to have been cut at an angle on purpose? or maybe just a fabric saving measure, depending on when this was made. I would appreciate your opinions on any of the above!

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Men's shirts typically have buttons on the right side. I can't tell from your photo which side the buttons are on, but to me it looks like a mens 1940's shirt. That said, I only do women's vintage clothing, so I am not very knowledgeable about men's clothing from this time. I just recently sold a women's shirt that was very similar to this, but my was shorter, boxier, and had larger, more decorative buttons. They were more like the button at the neckline of your shirt. Are the buttons down the front original?
 
The buttons are original and the same throughout, the second button picture is from the front. They are sewn onto the right hand side of the wearer, and appear through the left when done up.
 
Oh, I see. That is just a really close up picture of the button. I thought it looked like a large button in the 4th pic and that the other buttons were small. They're pretty buttons.
 
Welcome to the wonderful world of 1940s mens fashions - where the pants were worn high, and the necks and wrists were much smaller than modern man.

I agree that your shirt is probably from the '40s, probably wool, and definitely for a man - as sMarie says, mens shirts/jackets etc do up left over right (and womens are the reverse). The two colours used in the button stitching are probably where someone has restitched to make sure they won't come off.

The pocket is an interesting detail - usually they're cut in line with the garment so the slight skewiffness could indicate WW2 or post-WW2 fabric rationing - you can see how the seamstress has done her best to match up the stripes (on the top and left) but of course, they won't match up all the way. I'm sure it was deliberate rather than sloppy cutting.
 
That's so interesting, do you think the cuff buttons were moved for the man then to keep up with the trend? They have definitely been moved as I can see the previous position's holes. (I have added a picture of this) there is also a triangular piece inserted above the slit at the wrists, I presume to make it easier to roll up the sleeves? does this feature have a name?

I meant the button holes were sewn with two different colour threads (you are correct some of the buttons have been re-stitched back on though) as in the main button hole edge is in green thread the same as the seams on the shirt, and then the stop stitch at either end of the button hole is in cream, this is the same on every button hole.

Yes I think the pocket must be deliberate because looking at the checks again, even the collar has a very symmetrical use of the dark and lighter stripes and when the shirt is laid flat the front lines up and overlaps perfectly.
 
Ah, thanks for the clarification on the threads.

The flared vent you describe in the cuff: I'm not sure what it's called but it's not uncommon in older garments and (I think) a sign of quality. The buttons on the cuff were probably just moved to fit a slim wristed person: you're right in that it could have been a woman. This shirt has had around 60 years of living, it's probably had a few adventures. I would move the buttons back but then (insert pedantry about design integrity blah blah).
 
No I was planning to move to buttons back myself too, as even though I can just get them around my wrists they are uncomfortably small and I suspect very few people could wear them like that.
 
What is the sleeve length? If they are very short it's possible it could be a boys' shirt.
That neckline is very small but it definitely could just be for a small man, there were more small men in the 40s than there are now.
I am a small woman & I have altered many men's shirts to fit me, most commonly moving the cuff buttons.
 
I don't know how you measure the sleeve that way but this shirt is a 38" chest which I think is meant to be a little loose as there are two darts/pleats on the back and the sleeve length from edge of shoulder seam to bottom of cuff is 22".
 
I don't know how you measure the sleeve that way
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You measure from the center of the neckline at the seam where the collar meets the shirt (the nape of the neck) across the shoulder & then down to the end of the sleeve. When you see mens shirts sized (for instance) 15(neck)-34(sleeve), that is the traditional way to measure mens sleeve lengths, not from the shoulder seam to the wrist. If you measure sleeves from the shoulder seam to the end of the cuff be sure to also include the shoulder measurement from seam to seam.
 
Thank you for explaining. Ok, the sleeve measures 31" then which does appear a little short compared to your size small and considering the bust size.
 
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