Help dating an antique women's or girl's jacket

April 9, 2018 11:38 AM

Trying to get a date range for an old women's/girl's jacket. Provenance probably New England, could go way back (undated/labeled family item).

Photos on Flickr

I think it's pretty old and very fancy - the graceful silhouette doesn't quite come through in the photos. The beadwork is very intricate.

I would also appreciate any advice about finding a respectful home for it. Is it museum quality? It's in good condition.

posted by HaveYouTriedRebooting to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (6 answers total)

Can you read what the label says?

I work for a denim company that is 150+ years old, and has a historian on staff. They regular purchase items that are in good condition or otherwise have historical significance. If the company is still around, or purchased by another company, they might be able to give more information and have relationships with collectors.
posted by politikitty at 11:45 AM on April 9, 2018

I asked my vintage clothing dealer friend:

"Its 1880s-90s or so. "museum-quality" isnt a thing. museums keep or get rid of stuff depending on the needs of their collections. it looks like its in great shape, but can't read the tag, which looks like it would contain useful info."
posted by overhauser at 11:51 AM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

The text on that fabric: Stockinette is a type of stitch and fabric. I'm having trouble interpreting exactly where the fabric is placed in the garment, but it looks like it could be a dress shield. Taking a quick look at old newspapers, I see a number of mentions of that fabric for that purpose between 1890 and 1905.

If you are on Facebook, you might join and post this in Date My Vintage. There are lots of well-informed folks in that group with expertise on a variety of eras.
posted by jocelmeow at 12:26 PM on April 9, 2018

Between the collar and the shape of the sleeves in particular, my guess is late 1870s/1880s, and the bodice/basque of a dress, rather than a jacket (similar examples here). Steel beads (which these appear to be) were widespread by then. In terms of very general super broad tendencies (which don't account for individual preference, style lag according to class, or access to patterns) bodices in the 1860s, although short like this, were designed to add the appearance of broadness and slope of the shoulders. They were generally more fitted to the natural (corseted) form in the 1870s, but more likely to be elongated past the hips, and in the early part of the decade especially an open neckline was more popular. Bustles were larger and there would often be a longer flounce laying atop it. 1890s sleeves were infected with mutton-leggedness and the corset line was less natural (either long and waspish, or overexaggerated hourglass, with the pouter pigeon look creeping in at the end of the century).

Is there a particular design on the buttons?
posted by notquitemaryann at 1:40 PM on April 9, 2018 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: You all are great! Thank you. Yes, dress shield is right for that material with text - that's an armpit. Same on the other side. I hadn't realized until I looked how much genuinely old clothing is out there so I guess it's not as special as I had thought, but it's still pretty nice.
posted by HaveYouTriedRebooting at 8:14 PM on April 9, 2018

Response by poster: If anybody's still following, I added a button detail photo.
posted by HaveYouTriedRebooting at 6:29 PM on April 11, 2018