How can you tell if the clothing is truly vintage?

[JoesSweetheart]

Forgive me if this question has already been asked. And, if there's a thread, would you kindly direct me to it? Thanks oodles.

I have a hard time telling when clothes are vintage, or just 80's repos. What are key things to look for?

Thank you!

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

It's not that easy. If I was mean I would simply answer " experience" [huh]

Search the Lounge, look at many pictures, take attention to the clothes in old movies...

There are also some giveaways in the construction or union labels http://www.steelzipper.com/ACWA.html
Try this book. Could be a good start: A Dandy Guide to Dating Vintage Menswear

 

[Two Types]

Here are a couple of pointers:

Look inside at the labels. If the label looks modern, the suit is probably modern. If it names a certain shop or brand think about it - when was that shop set up?

But Floey is correct - experience is the best thing. Go to vintage shops. Pick up the suits. Feel their weight. Feel the cloth, see how thick it is (usually). Then go into a modern shop and compare them. You'll soon learn to spot the differences.

Good luck.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

The britains have the CC41 label for their wartime and demob stuff.
In the US you can also find NRA (National Recovery Act) labels that help to date your items to a small timeframe in the 30s.

But often you won't find this practical little signs and need to rely on your experience. When I went to Berlin last month I often searched through racks of suits and jackets. I looked for heavier fabrics (skipped the shiny lightweights real fast), padded shoulders, wide lapels, belted backs (but they all were 70s) and the striped lining inside of the sleeves. Well this are the points I can tell from my memory but there are still more.

 

[Miss Sis]

With all this skipping of light weight fabrics, does that mean all those elusive lightweight 1930s suits are still out there for me to find

Kindest Regards

Ben

 

[Two Types]

With all this skipping of light weight fabrics, does that mean all those elusive lightweight 1930s suits are still out there for me to find

Kindest Regards

Ben

I think you are being a little hopeful to use the words "all those" when discussing such suits. But i suppose it is such hope that keeps us going.

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

But they are less shiny.
Of course I meant the typical 80s fabrics. But I have to confess that I don't own any lightweight 1930s suits

 

[dhermann1]

"Joessweetheart" suggests you are a lady. I think dating womens clothing is a quantum level more complicated.

 

[Undertow]

As the others have said, you'll need quite a bit of experience to be able to look at an item and say, "That's vintage!" It's not as simple as looking for a few key elements, although those are certainly good starting points.

You can brush up on knowledge by pouring over old catalogs from whichever era you're interested. This should help you identify popular styles and their quirks. Then you'll want to research fabrics - in and of themselves - so that you know what kind of fabric you're holding, when it was developed, when it was popular, and how heavy it used to be vs. how heavy it is now; i.e. you're not going find many polyester suits from the 30's, and you're not going to find a whole lot of paper thin wool, know what I mean?

 

[Gene]

I've quickly passed over stuff before because I thought it wasn't truly vintage, but to the trained eye you can really look at a rack and the standouts will be obvious. Practice makes perfect!

 

[dhermann1]

Another thing you could do would be to look at the Vintage Family Photos and Every Day Women of the Golden Era threads. You'll get an idea of what regular people wore on a daily basis back in the day, as opposed to glamorous fashion photos and movie stills.

 

[JoesSweetheart]

Thanks a ton fellas!

Yes, I am a lady, but I like to keep my eye out for vintage suits for my husband.

 

[John in Covina]

I believe there are some Union lables that appear in suits and jackets that sometime include the year of manufacture. Also many vintage suits have details that were eliminated in more modern times such as specialty pockets, or elaborate stitching in some areas.

ARM HOLES! Vintages suits had arm holes that were well, smaller much higher up on the armpit. Not sure but perhaps sometime in the 60-70's the arm holes became larger and larger. In the old days a guy could easily drive a car with his suit jacket on and the shoulders did not ride up to become like bat wings. IF it is vintage it should not do that. The arm hole was high up, into the arm pit like an action jacket allowing fredom of movement a modern suit does not have. If you can go to a men's store and try on some suit jackets raise your arms in front like your holding the steering wwheel of your car at the top. Move the arms out to the side like your doing an iron cross on the rings. The shoulder pads will rise up like a draw bridge on a modern suit but not the vintage one. These are features that Matt Deckard and Senator Jack recreate in their modern lines. I believe Indy may do so too.

 

[DamianM]

Experience like all have said.
Labels, Weight of Fabric, Feel of fabric, hardware , cut, and overall look of the piece.

 

[Talbot]

Thanks a ton fellas!

Yes, I am a lady, but I like to keep my eye out for vintage suits for my husband.

Lucky guy.

 

[bburtner@moran]

Smell it.

 

[DamianM]

Smell it.

That works too if in doubt.

smeell it or wet it then smell it

 

[kiwilrdg]

material used is a good way to spot some fakes. Most sewing thread used in later times has polyester so it will not snap in the sewing machines. If you can pull a bit of thread out of a hem or the end of a seam try burning it to see if it balls up and smells like burning plastic.

A good black light in a dark room is another way to look for modern materials.

tests like that are quite often used for uniforms because there are real good fakes out there.

 

[Vampyre Master]

This site dates Harris tweed by label design, I bought a super "58" tweed overcoat after reading it, in fact just found the Burberry label, result!!
VM