A recent mention of Gideon Sundback's early zip design reminded me of this zip I've been meaning to share for a while. The teeth are 6" and it has 68 prong set diamantes on the tape and 15 on the ball chain. The ball tag is beautifully embossed with a rivet and 3 rope swag design (on the dividing lines) on a woodgrain? pattern background, and was segmented from the base to attach it to the ball chain and then closed. The zip head has two windows for two locking teeth to fit into, either side of the loop and is stamped Czecho-slavakia on the back . It's quite heavy duty and originally I thought it might have been for a small bag or purse, but the tape has been cut quite short at the top, suggesting it has been used for a garment at some time in the past. I thought it could date between 30's-50's, however I just read that Czechoslavakia was not officially a state between 1939-45 so I guess that rules that period out. Close after perhaps? The style of the zipper head looks older to me. What do you think? Have you seen one like this or know what it was used on? Were there such decorative zips pre-war? In any case, I intend to make a cocktail or evening dress, and use it down the back of the neck, and wear my hair up in a chignon.
I've got that same zip in a dress, that I think is late 30s/early 40s. Though mine is multi coloured. I posted about it here somewhere, and some one said they had one too.
I'm trying to find the thread where this zip came up before, but I can't. Whoever it was had one the same as yours, in white rather than multi coloured diamante, and it may have been NOS, but I'm not sure.
Anyway judging by my dress, I think it probably is pre-WWII. I think zips were relatively a new thing then, so some people made a feature of them.
The "Czechoslovakia" stamp is certainly similar to what you'd see on a piece of 30s jewelry... Really interesting zip!
Found it Ruth!: http://forums.vintagefashionguild.org/threads/my-favorite-zip.28819/#post-271184 and thanks to the way back machine, here is the same, longer zip from Dorothea's closet: http://web.archive.org/web/20090603010321/http://www.dorotheasclosetvintage.com/ACCESSORIES.html Your multicoloured version is fab, I'd love to see the whole dress if you still have it/photos? I have some other fancy (modern) zips I'm looking for ideas for, so it's great to see garments using them in novel ways. I have a bundle of double ended closed metal zips with a chain between the tags. I've never seen anything like them. They were old shop stock given to me maybe 5 years ago.
Well done for finding that thread! I still have the dress, but no photos. But it's a full length, kinda slinky, bias cut dress, in the heavy embroidered crepe that you can see in that thread, with long sleeves, puffed at the shoulder. It had a home made pad in one of the sleeve heads. It was the puffed padded sleeve heads that made me think thirties. The zip is at the back of the neck. It's a bit incongruous as there is no other colour on the dress, but I'm sure it's original to the dress.
This may have no connection or some connection by way of shape and design commonality at the time but the round head of that zipper reminds me of Barbara's Saturn shaped perfume bottle she posted awhile ago that was circa 1940.
