Can you help me date this item??

[Clara Noir]

Wedding dress questions

Right, I bought the dress at a vintage fair. It was £35 and fitted me pretty well (I plan to ditch some puppy fat I've collected up) which ticked my requirements. it was labelled 1950s, and I was hoping you girls could help my confirm if this is accurate. Right now my computer has forgotten it has usb drivers, so no pics just yet, but I'm working on that.

Key features:
Cream brocade
Fairly stiff
Long sleeves which come to a point at the outside edge of the hand
Quite high round neck
Calf length
Full skirt, its hard to tell but I's say it's more than a circle skirt
Metal zip up the back
No maker or labels, but it looks machine stitched and cut with pinking shears not overlocked on the egde
Small red (pen?) marks on the inside of the bodice, regularly spaced on the darts.

I'm guessing, from the stitching and red marks, that it's homemade?

Also, I don't know what kind of undergarments to wear with it. I've never worn a dress like this, but I'm thinking I need a waist cincher or girdle or something? Just to give a little room and better line. However the fabric isn't very thick so I'm not sure how much will show through. Does a normal full slip cover this?

Also, where can I get a massive petticoat in the uk? I'm worried the fabric will weigh down a regular petticoat, I only wear mine with light summer skirts and with this dress it collapsed.

I'm not too worried about it being vintage since it's all hidden (fiance won't mind too much that it's not real) but I want my outsides to look vintage!

Sorry for the long post and current lack of pictures, but the wedding will most likely be this summer so I don't have a lot of time to source everything and adjust the dress if needed. Also, we are on a tight budget so I know I will need to compromise.

Pictures will hopefully be put here soon, but any help you can offer will be very much appreciated! Thanks

 

[Joie DeVive]

The pinking and maker dots are a pretty sure give away that it is homemade.
The metal zipper suggests that it is a vintage piece.
It's hard to tell without pictures, but the full calf length skirt (especially if it's a circle or nearly so) sounds like a good bet for 1950's through early 1960's (remember, the early 1960's were very much the same as the later 1950's. It can be impossible to distinguish the difference sometimes)

That's my take on it....
Oh, and by the way, Best Wishes!

 

[LolitaHaze]

Canisters

I am guessing 70's... anyone have more info? Thanks.

They look the same color to the naked eye, but photograph differently.

 

[KittyT]

I am guessing 70's... anyone have more info? Thanks.

They look the same color to the naked eye, but photograph differently.

Lovely items, Lolita! Are there any distinguishing marks, say on the inside or outside bottom of the canisters? A name or maker's mark of some sort?

 

[LolitaHaze]

Lovely items, Lolita! Are there any distinguishing marks, say on the inside or outside bottom of the canisters? A name or maker's mark of some sort?

Thanks! You know... I didn't even think to look! *smacks forehead* Just checked and on the bottom it says Lincoln Beautyware. Now off to google.

 

[KittyT]

Thanks! You know... I didn't even think to look! *smacks forehead* Just checked and on the bottom it says Lincoln Beautyware. Now off to google.

They definitely seem to be mid-century and kindof resemble a set on this website (http://www.jitterbuzz.com/indkit.html) that is dated to the 40s. Good find!

 

[LizzieMaine]

My grandmother had exactly that same set of canisters -- there were two others, as I recall, a small one marked TEA and another small one marked COFFEE, that were made so they'd stack on top of each other.

I'm going to guess she got them late '50s or so -- they were definitely in the house when I was a little girl.

 

[crwritt]

My Mom still has canisters identical to these on her kitchen counter, as well as two smaller ones for coffee and tea. She's had them since she was married in 1952. They were probably new then.

 

[crwritt]

Clara Noir asked:
Also, where can I get a massive petticoat in the uk? I'm worried the fabric will weigh down a regular petticoat, I only wear mine with light summer skirts and with this dress it collapsed.

I just found this new post at A Dress a Day, where there was a discussion about making petticoats to go with particular dresses.

http://www.dressaday.com/dressaday.html

 

[Mary]

three black shoes

I have three black shoes and I would love if someone would date fore me!

The first pair from the left I think is from the 40's because they are so sturdy. (is that the word?) They are in suede and some knitted fabric.

The middle pair are also in suede and I'd say from the fifties somewhere. Do you agree?

The third pair on the right are new to me and tehy puzzel me. They are I some textile which I suppose should look like velvet. I must admit they aren't so cumfy because the are hard and I have tried to stretch them out because they hurt my heel but it wasn't a complete success.

Saw this other tread about stiff shoes but they where leather and suede. Have you any ideas how to go about whan textile shoes are stiff? It's not the fabric but something inside the shoe that completely stiff.

M

I'll post the pictures very soon (I hope) when I figure out how to!

 

[Mary]

 

[Mary]

 

[Mary]

I'm truly sorry for the enormuous pictures. Tried to resize them but couldn't. I'll ask a friend and post smaller in the future!

 

[KittyT]

I'm truly sorry for the enormuous pictures. Tried to resize them but couldn't. I'll ask a friend and post smaller in the future!

We actually need them to be bigger so we could see the details. It would also help to see any printing on the insole.

 

[deadpandiva]

Yes bigger pictures would help. The first pair look 40's to me but it's hard to tell. They all look really pretty.

 

[Mary]

Thanks for showing interest!
I'll take some close-ups on each of them as soon as the battery is loaded. Can't wait.

 

[Mary]

Back again with some new photos. It's evening here and I don't seem to have sufficient lights so you can only see half the shoe. The first pair anyway.

Inside it says Ingeborg witch is a swedish name and I suppose it is the brand. It also says X 2802 4. Can you really say anything from those numbers?! I think four is the size because it says so on the sole or to be correct it says G4A.

So when is it from?

 

[Mary]

The second pair.

Inside it says: T?§rnskor maybe you can translate it to seagullshoes. Then there's this picture of this bird. And then it says Continental style.

And the side side it says 1 1 1230 4. I doubt that can help, but the what do I know?

 

[Mary]

and the last ones

There is nothing inside them except numbers. 14097A009 17 and HF 5. On the sole it says Made in Sweden which seems odd to me and make me think they are new. It's not like Swedish shoes are famous lite Italian! But then they have little metal dots from small nails on the heel which the second pair has and that makes me think they are old.

 

[deadpandiva]

I'm not an expert, but they all look 1940's to me. That last pair is gorgeous!

fftopic: Is that a picture of you in your avatar? If so you are stunning.