What is the first name on this signature?

Hi all!

I'm going slightly cross eyed from this first name on this label, I see S and then e n e and St. John. It's a knitwear piece so googling anything brings up St. John.

Any thoughts?

Thank you in advance!

 

Hi, Carla! I've been staring at this since you posted it, and it's making me batty. The only possibly helpful thought I have is that the first letter of the first name is not at all the same shape/style as the S in the last name. I'm thinking it's possible that the first name starts with another letter (J and F are two possibilities to my eye). Good luck!

 

Thanks Robin!

 

I see Selene.

 

It looks like Shane to me, but I couldn't find that name online--other than an eBay seller with a garment with the same label interpreted it as Shane, too.

 

I see it as Skeyne St, John.
So I googled that and this came up....http://www.ebayclothingsellers.com/forum/index.php?topic=11275.0

Someone claims it is the earliest marie gray st john label????

No clue if it is true--but may be a lead???

 

The ebay claim seems iffy to me... Is your garment early 1960s (when St. John was founded)?

I agree with Robin that the first letter of the name isn't an S. An M, maybe?

Irene or Marlene make sense with the last three letters of the name, but don't really fit the rest of it!

 

The piece is very 80s. Knit jumpsuit with shoulder pads so I can rule early 60s out.

 

I remember seeing this label years ago and being told it was St. John. Wayne is the first word I think, or I've seen it referred to Wayne I should say

 

hmmm curious.

It has all the hallmarks of a st john piece; good quality rayon knit, chic styling, enamel buttons, primary color. I'll photograph it soon.

 

After reading Carrie's suggestion that the first letter might be an 'M' I looked at it again and realized the first letter does not look like the 'S' in the 'St' and it could be an 'M' that overlaps half the rest of the name. After more searching I think it is very possible and likely the first name is Marie--as in Marie St. John Gray. I think what looks like an 'n' is 'ri' where the 'r' is written not like a script 'r' but like a printed 'r.' The 'h'- or 'k'-looking thing is the most unclear, but I think it is the leading edge of the cursive 'a.' I will continue to look for evidence of a trademark for Marie St.John, but most of the puzzle pieces we are bringing up here seem to fit that conclusion.

 

Bam!
http://www.ebay.com/gds/St-John-Lingo-and-Labels-Part-II-/10000000000969004/g.html

Lynne! you are a magician!

Let's see if a copyright comes up with an appropriate date.

 

Glad the ebay claim was correct--

 

So, according to that guide, the label is 80s/90s, which fits your dating of the piece--hooray!

 

And thank you to everyone that helped with this one! YAY!

 

A good addition for the label resource!

 

I am afraid I won't be entirely convinced until I can see government trademark confirmation, as the eBay page is someone else's opinion, too, and I have seen two other eBay pages with other attributions for the label. It is a tough one, isn't it?

EDITED TO ADD: I didn't mean to sound like such a curmudgeon. I should have said without proof/citations/references/footnotes, etc. the information on the eBay page remains someone else's opinions, too.

 

OK, NOW I'll believe it (click on word NOW to see all). The mark here, from Trademarkia, is not exactly identical, but if you look at the link, you can see there were other Marie St. John trademarks, but they are not pictured. Close enough to convince me, though. I see now, too, that the mysterious 'h' or 'k' was actually the second half of the M...

 

Wow Lynne! Thank you!