tracksuit top - help dating please?!

S

susanjoyce

Registered Guest
could someone help me date this tracksuit top please?
it just feels different to any ive come across - normally 80s it has to be said.
perhaps 70s?











the label has been snipped out at some point.
and i thought it strange it zipped just almost to the bottom but not quite!
the stripe detail to the side is one complete piece rather than two separate yellow stripes.
and i thought the zip lining was quite different!
material isnt like any ive felt before in a tracksuit top - it has a little stretch.

any help would be great! just out of interest more than anything really!!

thank you very much and hope youre all having a gorgeous day!
 
I agree with Marty - I think it was a polo neck jumper style and someone has added the zipper, it's not very well done so probably a home dressmaker and as the zipper isn't as long as the jumper, that's why it's sewn together at the bottom.

Are there any other labels sewn in the side? Hopefully a care label or fabric label. It's hard to date because of the alteration.

Nicole
 
totally get the home made vibe too - buuuuuut!
heres a picture of the top inside out.



the fabric around the inside neckline is the same as the fabric filling the lack of zip at the bottom - and the fabric around the neckline is under the stitching holding the stripes in place which do seem original to the top.

Nicole there are no other labels present :( i would have guessed the whole top had been hand made if it werent for the tiny bits of cut out label left.


oh its a mystery!
thank you for your help on this! x
 
Hmmm..... I think you're right that it is 70s, and rather than being homemade, I think it's probably just from a maker that didn't do the best quality work. So many of the knitwear firms in the 70s turned out less-than-stellar work (probably why 70's knits have a bad rep--not always deserved, not always undeserved).

The zipper does look like it matches, and the pull ring would but it seems to stop at quite an odd spot on the front, but pullover/zip tops that didn't unzip all the way were around then--kind of like the hoodies today that only zip about halfway or 3/4 of the way.

Can you tell if perhaps the zipper has been cut across, then stitched to make a "stop" at the end (I can't see it well enough in the photos) to shorten it? Perhaps it did zip all the way down, but for some reason, somebody shortened it and stitched up the remaining allowance at the bottom.
 
It looks like a homemade replacement of the original zipper, but the person couldn't find one long enough or didn't want it to go all the way to the bottom. The original probably went all the way down. If the zipper was intended as it looks now, I doubt there would be a seam front and center for the bottom ribbed part. The seam(s) for that portion would probably have been on one or two of the sides.
 
I think Deborah has probably hit the nail on the head. A too-short replacement zipper, or, not as likely a scenario, the zipper is original, but for some reason (damage to the teeth or something) was shortened.
 
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