"The Lilly" sundress... How were the straps attached?

The Vintage Vendeuse

The Vintage Vendeuse

VFG Member
Hi all,
I'm hoping for some help on properly re-attaching the shoulder straps on this Lilly. The original owner removed the two buttons (thankfully saving them and sewing them onto one of the straps for safe-keeping) and stitched the straps in place on the inside of the back of the dress. The straps are quite long and I believe they were likely meant to be crossed in back. I can see where each button was originally sewn... right next to where the straps are currently sewn. In the third photo, you can just see the needle holes from the original button placement to the left of the sewn strap.
My conundrum is this: I don't understand how the strap would then attach to the button! The straps do NOT have buttonholes, they are folded over on the ends by several inches and stitched every half-inch or so a few times... presumably to allow for strap length adjustment in some way. But just how does one attach the straps to the buttons? I'm scratching my head on this one. Am I missing a simple solution?
Thanks!
 

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I think there must be a piece missing, a loop would have gone through the straps, at the right point between the half inch dividers for the desired length, and attached to the buttons somehow.

I agree it looks like they should cross over.
 
I think Ruth's cracked it, the stepped stay stitches are seperating the different length settings. This is a case of undo the alteration, stick the buttons back on where they came from and have a play. I love this style as it's a great easy fix for someone tall. :rolleyes:
 
No, the loops do not fit round the buttons and they definitely appear manufacturer sewn. They are not actually "loops" at all. I spotted that ebay dress, too, when I was trying to research this :) It's an easy fix to undo the stitched straps but I'm really hoping to figure out how they should be worn. Here are a couple more photos:

Editing to add: The buttons would technically fit through the stitched "loops" but the straps are too thick to actually be buttoned on that way if the button is sewn flat to the fabric of the dress back... unless the buttons were sewn on with long thread acting as a kind of a shank?? But I should think that would be bulky and uncomfortable for the wearer of the garment. (I think I'm grasping at straws, here.)
 

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like men's suspender ends?
In the last photo you've shown the original stitching has been removed before the stay stitching was added, so I'm thinking they might have cut off the extra the ends (which had button holes?) which were originally stitched to the part with missing stitches.
Are they long enough undone to be crossed or will they fall short?
 
Lovely dress! I concur with Ruth and Melanie - I would expect this dress to have straps that cross over at the back and secure via buttonholes at the ends of the straps to the buttons sewn on the back of the dress.

I recommend unpicking the stitches and seeing if the straps are now long enough to cross over and meet at the place the buttons should be. If they're too short, it's likely that the button holed fabric may have been cut off. Is it possible that under the alteration there is a sewn up button hole perhaps?

N
 
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