Hello!! I picked this up in Austin Texas. It was labeled as 40's but it has a union tag that says AFLCIO so i know it must be 50's at least if anyone can give me a possible date. The crotch lining has a plastic type feel to it if that is relevant to dating it.. as opposed to a cotton insert. I have a few questions... ok many. As it was a swimsuit I assume it is ok to soak it, it has some staining on the inside, any advice on cleaning it? She has a few problems.. missing button at shoulder and as you can see I think someone tried to make it smaller... a few quick stitches and safety pins on both sides of bust. Zipper works great. So the real question is ... does the elastic look stretched out to you? I know it is hard to tell in pictures but since this is not a modern lycra suit it is just hard to tell for me if it is just the way these suits are or if it is all stretched out. Last question... will these suits stand up to actually being worn in a pool? Can they handle chlorine? Thank you!!!!
Oh it's super cute! I don't suppose you have a dress form to picture it on? As far as I know (not an expert on the period) the gold bikini was certainly around in 1950 (A la Monroe) as well as swimsuits. I think they were bigger in the 50's but have seen quite a few 60s ones too (and about every other era). The 50s gold lame bikini I have has pointed bust detail, it has extra structure to ensure the pointy look. It's hard to tell from the pics if yours does but it is generally a hint along with other tell tale signs that it is 50s. To be honest I thought the styling was more 40's. Maybe it's 50's cusp, very early 50's? Unless the label came out later. Shall see what the experts weigh in with.
It's beautiful! The union label is the 1955-63 one, so that gives a good scope already. I'm seeing more the 1950s end of that, personally. From what I see, the brand Robby Len still exists, though it has changed hands a few times. This site mentions it first being in use in 1955: https://trademarks.justia.com/721/56/robby-72156339.html That taking in with the safety pin and a few stitches looks like a quick fix to me - maybe that was just done for a fashion show or something like that, I don't think that would hold up to much use... in any case, this should be removed. The elastic band looks to me like it may have stretched going by the photos, but it's hard to tell. What does it feel like - can you stretch it any more as it is now, or not?
