Can you help me date this item??

[cecil]

Thankyou Lauren!! I was close, I spose. lol

 

[SayCici]

I just posted a few of these in the purchases thread, but I wanted to get some opinions here, mostly affirmations of what I'm thinking - I'm new at this! I did a lot of research beforehand, I swear, but my fashion knowledge becomes very sparse outside of the 50s.

My guess is 30s, because of the round shoulders (shoulder pads - the picture isn't great, I know) and the overall shape it creates. It has a tag (located in a side seam) that reads 'The John Shillito Co. of Cincinnati'. Beneath the collar is a bow (I need to get a close-up picture of it, it has some kind of fur-covered thing stuck in it, that I think is intentional, but my father disagrees.)

When I first grabbed this I thought it might have been older, but it has a metal zipper up the back and a 'dry clean only' tag, which makes me thinks 70s-does-30s/Edwardian?

I'm not so great with fabrics, but it feels like silk and has a very light brocade pattern. It doesn't actually button close, it has a few very old looking snap fasteners. Where the buttons end, the stomach is revealed. These have matching drawstring-type pants, but in bad shape, and don't seem to be high-waisted. Oriental-inspired pajamas?

I love this dress, it's in perfect condition. Again when I just added this to my armful of stuff at the estate sale, I thought it might be older, but now I'm thinking 60s-does-20s, because of a long (metal) zipper up the back.

And where I'm really at a loss, childrens' clothes:

Sorry for posting so many, I really did try to find my own answers! I guess you can never really get a conclusive answer without having the receipt. ;] Thank you for any input!

 

[Lauren]

First off, I'm in love with your scores! That must have been some estate sale! They don't come around like that every day!

The first one is 30s
second 70s
3rd could be anywhere from 20's to 60's cause the style didn't change much for oriental pjs and they were a really popular souvenir to bring back from Asia
4th peach dress I was really thinking was 20s until you mentioned the zipper! It's 60s, like you thought.
The fifth and sixth little girls dresses are 50's, maybe early 60s.
VERY cute lot of clothing. I think you got lucky, and I was totally duped on a couple until you mentioned zippers!

 

[Lily Powers]

SayCiCi, the labels are a useful clue for dating or researching vintage garments online. The John Shillito Co. of Cincinnati was a department store founded in 1830 and sold in 1928 to the Lazarus family. Seems like a good bet that your garment is from the 1920's.

 

[Lauren]

Although it was sold, it is quite possible that it continued under the ownership of the new buyers. Coats like this didn't come into fashion until the 1930s, so it probably was under the same name but different owners. It says on Wikipedia, here, that the name was changed in 1982, so it continued on until then. Federated Department Stores, as it says, wasn't the new name of the store but a congomeration of many stores under the same umbrella. Kind of like today Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy are all under the same group but are different stores.

 

[SayCici]

Although it was sold, it is quite possible that it continued under the ownership of the new buyers. Coats like this didn't come into fashion until the 1930s, so it probably was under the same name but different owners. It says on Wikipedia, here, that the name was changed in 1982, so it continued on until then. Federated Department Stores, as it says, wasn't the new name of the store but a congomeration of many stores under the same umbrella. Kind of like today Gap, Banana Republic, and Old Navy are all under the same group but are different stores.

That was my thought process! One of the other businesses in the group was Filene's, and then eventually down the line I think the FDS joined up under the name Macy's.

 

[SayCici]

I was working my way through this topic backwards and I noticed someone mentioned something I've been curious about, but had a hard time googling. Sometimes I can't find tags on an item, except a little white one that has the lot # and size. Were these only used for a particular amount of time? I know I don't see them in modern clothing.

 

[LizzieMaine]

I was working my way through this topic backwards and I noticed someone mentioned something I've been curious about, but had a hard time googling. Sometimes I can't find tags on an item, except a little white one that has the lot # and size. Were these only used for a particular amount of time? I know I don't see them in modern clothing.

Those were simply manufacturing tags used by generic manufacturers who sold their merchandise at cut rates to wholesalers rather than marketing them in major department stores under brand or designer names. If you go thru an old Manhattan phone book you'll find hundreds of these sorts of manufacturers operating under nondescript names -- by today's standards many of them would be considered sweatshops. Their big customers were often mail order catalogues, small independent department stores, and the sort of "Milady's Dress Shoppe" establishments you'd find in any small town. Sometimes the retailer would add their own label, but often in the case of cheap cotton dresses and such, they would go on the racks as-is.

Labeling requirements today are more strict than they were then, so manufacturers tend to be a bit more specific.

 

[cailinbeag]

Scarf Clips

Hi ladies,

This is such a little thing, but I was hoping someone with a keen eye might be able to help. My mom picked these scarf clips up for me at an antique show. Though they were sold on the card, I don't know that it's original to the clips. The clips are some kind of plastic...celluloid perhaps?...and I get the impression from the style and colours that they're 1930's. Am I warm? I'm considering putting them up in the classifieds since I never wear scarves and I'd like to see someone use them, but don't want to give people the wrong info. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

- edited for typos

 

[Lauren]

Ok, those are just awesome. I love things on original cards! Yup, you're right. Probably early to mid 30s. GREAT find.

 

[Lady Day]

I wear scarves all the time and those are cool. Id say mid 30s by the ladies hair cut.

LD

 

[Tigerlily]

I love those scarf clips, cailinbeag!

So, I got these in a lot of 16 vintage earrings, but I'm showing 8 of the ones I really want to know about... pretty much all of the ones not pictured have the same kind of screw on the back like the ones on the blue flower earrings. I tried to find something online to help me date them myself, but I didn't find anything. I don't know much about earrings, so I'd really appreciate it if someone could help me date these!

I'm guessing the first pair that look like pretzels might be 50s judging from the rhinestones? They're more of a light yellow than white like they look in the picture.
I think the pair that look like grapes are made of glass...
The cameo earrings have a young couple on them, but it's pictured upside down.

 

[Miss Sis]

All look to be 50s - 60s to me with the exception of the ones with the clusters of blue beads. I'd say they are mid - later part of the 40s as I have a couple of similar pairs. They were a very popular style then.

 

[cailinbeag]

1940s Clutch?

Hi all,

I bought this clutch purse at an antique fair about 8 years ago and have always been curious about it. The seller told me it was 1940s. It's in such good condition that I was suspicious it wasn't old at all, but the snap has a patina to it that makes me think the seller was telling the truth.

It's 9" x 4.5" and a short pile velvet. The back has an embroidered band on it, I'm assuming to slip one's hand through while carrying. Hard to tell if the embroidery is done by hand or machine, since I can't see the back. The interior is satin.

Your thoughts?

 

[Vintage Betty]

Hi all,

I bought this clutch purse at an antique fair about 8 years ago and have always been curious about it. The seller told me it was 1940s. It's in such good condition that I was suspicious it wasn't old at all, but the snap has a patina to it that makes me think the seller was telling the truth.

It's 9" x 4.5" and a short pile velvet. The back has an embroidered band on it, I'm assuming to slip one's hand through while carrying. Hard to tell if the embroidery is done by hand or machine, since I can't see the back. The interior is satin.

Your thoughts?

cailinbeag, you really have a lovely vintage purse. Most likely made in India for export, it could be dated back as early as the 1940's (I'm not an expert on purses) but is probably 1950's/1960's because it's a clutch style with a band which the hand might fit through (can't tell).

This is a unique design, which increases its value, but also has wonderful silver and gold bullion stitching, evident by the non-patina on the thread of the trees.

I can't tell if your purse has beads, but if it has, they are probably glass. The interior appears to be silk.

Enjoy - it's a really lovely purse.

Vintage Betty

 

[cailinbeag]

Thanks for the input! It doesn't have beading, but you're right about the bullion stitching. Also, my hand does fit comfortably through the band in the back. Here are some close-ups of the front:

This is another piece that, like the scarf clips I mentioned earlier, I'm considering selling since I never use. So any info that will help me describe it as genuinely as possible is really appreciated.

 

[Heather]

Gorgeous purse!!

 

[NicknNora]

This dress was made in the 70s and is supposed to be modeled after a 1930s dress. Is 1930s correct or is it 1920s? Or maybe it's late 20s early 30s. LOL

 

[Lauren]

It looks like it was styled after the early 30s to me.

 

[NicknNora]

It looks like it was styled after the early 30s to me.

lol lol lol

I've seen these tiered dresses in period clothing before but I'm just not sure what the specific time period was. If anyone runs across one I hope they post a photo here and include the year. Thanks

***another question...does anyone know the name of the type of sleeve used on this dress? Is it a flutter sleeve?