How to Identify & Date Vintage Dresses

When identifying and dating vintage dresses, there is no substitute for knowing your fashion history. And in doing so, it will save you from buying fake ones! So, you need to do alot of research on fashion history, photographs, magazines and watch old movies such as Sound of Music? Isn’t Liesl’s dress so elegant! ^_^ Anyway, I recommend this book ‘Antique & Vintage Clothing: A Guide to Dating & Valuation of Women’s Clothing 1850 to 1940′ by Diane Snyder-Haug. 1850s to 1910s is not considered vintage; however, it’s intriguing to see how fashion has developed over the decades. This book is great! – it is broken up into specific eras and outlines common features and trends with great photos to facilitate your understanding. In addition, I bumped into this Youtube video by ‘StrawberryKoi’ and learnt alot from it.  

Here are some guidelines to help you:

Look at the general appearance of the dress and try to categorize into a given decade by observing carefully the fabrics, silhouettes, hemlines, bodices, trimmings and lines. Of course, your research and knowledge on fashion history will guide you here. 

The zipper is usually a strong indicator, as vintage clothes often have metal zippers on the side or back. Metal zippers are believed to appear around the 1930s to 1950s. It is not until 1960′s when plastic and nylon zippers were used. 

Look for a label – You may see a simple, classic elegant writing with no size tag and no washing instructions.Thisis because there is no legal obligation to have care instructions on clothes until they were introduced in the 1970s.  

Lastly, good luck with your vintage hunting and refine those skils. You may not get it right in the beginning, but Keep trying and don’t be discouraged - It requires a trained eye and requires alot of practice! Practice makes Perfect 

 

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