Vintage Dress...Princess Katalin HELP PLEASE

J

jakdolls

Registered Guest
Good afternoon all! I have this lovely vintage dress that I need some help with. The label reads Princess Katalin zu Windisch-Graetz
The dress is an ecru silk. I have seen this type of design on the front but do not know what it is called. It zips down the side...nylon YKK zipper, pinked seams and built in crinoline..here are some pics...it is small and would not zip all the way on my manni.

<img src=http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/janicesebaysales/dress/d37.jpg>

<img src=http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/janicesebaysales/dress/d38.jpg>

<img src=http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/janicesebaysales/dress/d39.jpg>

<img src=http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/janicesebaysales/dress/d40.jpg>
 
What do you want to know Jakdolls?

If it's what the bust is called, I'd call that a pleated shelf bust. If it's dating, I'd say '80s - it's a nice one though, more elegant than most.

Do you have any photos of the labels?

Nicole
 
Thanks Circa....Whew...It's a good thing I waited ...I was thinking 60's...way off..lol...Yes the pleated shelf bust was the term I was looking for...it is so lovely...wish I was extra tiny again and getting married...I think it would be a pretty dress for a 2nd,3rd wedding. Here are the only other pics I took.

<img src=http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/janicesebaysales/dress/d41.jpg>
<img src=http://i980.photobucket.com/albums/ae286/janicesebaysales/dress/d42.jpg>
 
I immediately thought 80s too, but that label is cofusing huh? is the label original to the dress? and does the zipper look replaced?
 
everything is all original to the dress...the label did scream 60's to me in the beginning..I guess I will go with gut feeling...It's truly a beauty.
 
I agree that the label on your lovely dress looks older, but this excerpt from a 1984 article seems to underscore the 1980s attribution:

"Princess Katalin zu Windisch-Graetz has become a major shareholder in Jerry Silverman, Inc., and was named president and chief executive officer, in a move to turn around the ailing old-line firm. She will also be the firm's designer...Windisch-Graetz, 36, spent 18 years in the fashion business in Europe where she began as an assistant working for Klara Rothschild in Budapest, later joining Top Modelle, an Austrian ready-to-wear house, and finally starting her own firm.

The Austrian citizen said that plans are to rebuild, focusing on feminine, fashionable, fitted clothes for day to evening.

She added that for the time being the line will include "no pants, no suits, no blouses -- only dresses." While the company will retain the Silverman name for business purposes, clothes will be sold under the Princess Katalin zu Windisch-Graetz label...

Although the designer first sold her own line to American stores only 15 months ago, Robson said "the combination of her reputation and a more fashionably designed line" should boost business and "will enable us to capitalize on her talents and the old Jerry Silverman reputation."

(PLEASE NOTE: This excerpt is posted here for educational purposes only. Kindly do not copy this into an auction or sale site)
 
On a style like this, I would probably take the bust measurement from the inside of the dress - it would be too hard to arrive at going the other way. I would also include an underbust measurement.
 
I admit, it's a pretty dress but the name stunned me even more, as I know it in a context that has nothing to do with the fashion industry.

Windisch-Graetz is an old Austrian aristocratic dynasty, though the place where the family comes from actually lies in Slovenia these days. There's more info here, but it's only in German...

I found another interesting website, Peerage.com, if you scroll down a bit you find a hungarian Baroness called Katalin who married a Prince Windisch-Graetz in New York in 1980 - I guess that would be the designer of your dress. Katalin is a hungarian name as far as I know.

Karin
 
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