Can you help me date this item??

[Inky]

Thank you epr25 and crwitt for your input! I too am thinking it's very late 40's to mid 50's as well - and I love it more every time I wear it. It is in impeccable condition and I hope to keep it that way.

I would love to see a picture of your pattern, crwitt, to see the similarities. I did buy a slim black gabardine skirt to wear with this jacket, and I am now eyeballing a red rayon blouse - holiday parties, here I come!

 

[Josephine]

I picked up what seems to be a kind of kimono. Sort of. Except it hits just below the waist.

Bella, that's a haori: a hip- or thigh-length kimono jacket which adds formality. Haori were originally reserved for men, until fashions changed at the end of the Meiji period. They are now worn by both men and women, though women's kimono jackets tend to be longer.

I have one that I wear with a silk shell and dress pants or skirt to parties, etc.

 

[crwritt]

Here it is, the pattern and the jacket.
http://s206.photobucket.com/albums/bb211/crwritt/?action=view&current=BlueJacket9.jpg
Now if I just knew how to post a picture instead of a link to a picture, I'd be doing much better.

 

[Inky]

Oh, thank you crwritt - that does look very similar to mine, except for the wide shawl collar, like you said. I love how yours turned out! And it does look right with a slim skirt, so I was instinctively on the right track with the silhouette. I still have so much to learn beyond the "oh, i like that and want to wear it!" though, that's okay with me too, to be honest

 

[crwritt]

I wore the blue jacket today, I'm quite happy with how it turned out, of course this was a very cold day, below freezing, so I wore it over a sweater with a scarf and black jeans tucked into tall boots, not very vintage.
This is a pattern left to me by my mother in law, It looked like she had opened it and studied it a few times, but never cut and sewed it. Coats have more detailed tailoring and more layers than dresses, so I can see why she didn't make it, but lucky me, she did buy nice blue wool in the right color and amount for this coat, with just about enough left over for a skirt.
This is the first project I've done in a long time that didn't require a trip to the fabric store, since I happened to have the right lining, and flannel for the interlining, even interfacing and fleece for the shoulder pads right here in my collection.
I have several boxes of her patterns, most of them I'll have to size up a little if I want them to fit me, some may even be worth the effort.

 

[LaMedicine]

I am hoping LaMedicine shows up and check out my find, but in the meantime, what do you kimono-minded gals think?

Ya called ?

Yes, as Josephine says, it's a haori, a jacket worn over a kimono. From the looks of it, and since you say it hits just below the waist, I'd say it's what we often call "chabaori", a shorter and informal type of haori to be worn at home. The standard length is just above one's knee for both men and women. It can be longer by choice, up to about halfway down the calf, and the long length was popular during the Taisho Chic/Showa Modern (1920s-'30s)era.

Haori evolved from "dofuku", a jacket type clothing of late 16thC and became part of men's formal wear by the 18th C. To this day, formal kimono for men is incomplete without a haori. Women were forbidden to wear haori during the Edo era (1603-1868) but geisha of the Fukagawa district in Edo started wearing them forbidden or not, and got away with it, since the late Edo era. When Edo became Meiji, haori spread among women in general.

When you wear a haori, you turn down the back collar in half

like so.
The front collar is turned down completely as below.

This is a long length haori(nagabaori) made from an old kimono that probably dated back to the '30s judging from its original construction details, and some kimono pics I've seen of this period. I had it remade into a haori because the orignal kimono was too small for me.

 

[KittyT]

Can someone please help me date this? It is a Warner piece, signed on the back. Thanks!

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Ya called ?

Yes, as Josephine says, it's a haori, a jacket worn over a kimono. From the looks of it, and since you say it hits just below the waist, I'd say it's what we often call "chabaori", a shorter and informal type of haori to be worn at home. The standard length is just above one's knee for both men and women. It can be longer by choice, up to about halfway down the calf, and the long length was popular during the Taisho Chic/Showa Modern (1920s-'30s)era.

Haori evolved from "dofuku", a jacket type clothing of late 16thC and became part of men's formal wear by the 18th C. To this day, formal kimono for men is incomplete without a haori. Women were forbidden to wear haori during the Edo era (1603-1868) but geisha of the Fukagawa district in Edo started wearing them forbidden or not, and got away with it, since the late Edo era. When Edo became Meiji, haori spread among women in general.

When you wear a haori, you turn down the back collar in half

like so.
The front collar is turned down completely as below.

This is a long length haori(nagabaori) made from an old kimono that probably dated back to the '30s judging from its original construction details, and some kimono pics I've seen of this period. I had it remade into a haori because the orignal kimono was too small for me.

Thanks!! I will have to have a look at the collar and see if I can turn it down like in the pic.

 

[LaMedicine]

Thanks!! I will have to have a look at the collar and see if I can turn it down like in the pic.

You should be able to, it's sewn that way.
Incidentally, there usually won't be any tags on authetic kimono as they are invariably hand sewn, not mass made, and many old kimono, especially daily wear, are actually sewn by the woman who wears them or by someone in the family rather than professional seamstresses. I say usually, because some kimono ordered through deparment stores do have very small tags with the department logo--about half an inch wide and an inch long--sewn inconspicuouly into the seam between the right inside collar and the bodice, close to the low end of the collar, around hip height.
Also, kimono and any article related to wearing them, should be folded flat along the seams and stored flat, not left hanging on hangers. You need to air them out overnight to dry out the humidity they stored when being worn, but should not be left hanging for more than a day or two. Kimono can weigh up to a coupld of lbs, and the fabric is delicate, so its alignment will become distorted due to its own weight if left hanging for more than a few days.

 

[David Conwill]

Help me date my wife's Christmas present.

Recently I went Christmas shopping in an antique store in Bay City. My darling wife went nuts over a white "gum drop" style lady's hat, so I purchased it as her Christmas gift. It's a Hückel and seems to be fur felt, albeit a very "furry" fur felt. It has a silk lining and a brown leather sweatband.

I've searched and I'll I've been able to determine is that it has to be post-WWII, since the sweat band is marked "Tonak" and that Hückel is still providing hats in the US through Burlington Coat Factory. The style and the presence of a brown sweatband makes me think early sixties, and it's a nice, high-quality hat, but it's in such nice condition, it might very well be newer.

Is there any way to determine how old this hat might be?

-Dave

 

[BeBopBaby]

I would say that hat is mid-60s. It reminds me of the mod hats that Audrey Hepburn wore during that period. Here's a similar hat she wears in a picture dated 1966.

 

[crwritt]

Inky, here's another example of that type of jacket, from 1952
http://www.evadress.com/9113.html

 

[Inky]

Inky, here's another example of that type of jacket, from 1952
http://www.evadress.com/9113.html

Oh, thank you crwritt! "Swagger Coat" I love that description! And thank you so much for enabling me to peruse evadress.com again, I've been avoiding it, lol, until I make some pants off a pattern I bought there.

I think I shall consider my coat late 40's/early 50's and consider myself incredibly lucky that whoever owned it before me wore it very little and took wonderful care of it. I plan to wear it Saturday night to my niece's Nutcracker recital.

 

[hotrodmama0201]

I found this at the thrift store across the street for $7. It's absolutely flawless. Not a single rip/tear, discoloration or anything. It has no smell at all....it seems as if this dress has never been worn.

I would like some suggestions on altering it and also dating it. I'm not sure if this is the right thread. I know there is a "help me date this item" thread somewhere, but what about help with how to ask to have this altered? It needs to come in at the waist quite a bit, I know that, and I want to have it shortened, but what about the top? I would appreciate your wisdom......

 

[Lady Day]

I think its a fairly modern dress: back plastic zipper, overlocked seam down the fabric, and from the fabric's sheen, it looks to be made of polyester.

As far as altering, take in the side seams to your desired fit, and hem the bottom to your desired length.

LD

 

[KittyT]

I think its a fairly modern dress: back plastic zipper, overlocked seam down the fabric, and from the fabric's sheen, it looks to be made of polyester.

I frequently see these dresses listed on Ebay as "maxi dresses" and they usually date from the 70s.

 

[Lady Day]

I rest my case

LD

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

Can someone please help me date this? It is a Warner piece, signed on the back. Thanks!

I have no idea! Do you have a photo of the back? The closure can help date brooches. Also, supercute.

 

[Miss_Bella_Hell]

This is a B. Altman coat that appears to be shearling (I was told it was faux but it does not seem to be, which is distressing as I'm trying to eradicate fur from my wardrobe). I can take a pic of the label if need be.

The label says only "B. Altman Co." then there is a smaller tag that says only to clean it by a professional, or I can drop it off at "Leathercraft Process of America" on 56th Street, which is nice of them. lol

 

[hotrodmama0201]

I frequently see these dresses listed on Ebay as "maxi dresses" and they usually date from the 70s.

Thanks for your help ladies....

but that sucks. I'm dissapointed I guess I need to train my eye more and do some additional reading on here about identifying stuff better. I hate thinking I've brought a "gem" home only for it to be some 70's or 80's POS. Guess I've got something to do tonight!