VINTAGE FACTS when buying and dating vintage clothes
When did zipper's appear on garments? According to Wikipedia not until the late 1930's. Garments with hooks and eye fastenings are likely to be earlier in the 1930's and before.
From Wilkipedia -
The popular "zipper" name came from the B. F. Goodrich Company; they opted to use Gideon Sundback's fastener on a new type of rubber boots (or galoshes) and referred to it as the zipper, and the name stuck. The two chief uses of the zipper in its early years were for closing boots and tobacco pouches. It was almost twenty years before the fashion industry began seriously promoting the novel closure on garments.[citation needed]
In the 1930s, a sales campaign began for children's clothing featuring zippers. The campaign praised zippers for promoting self-reliance in young children by making it possible for them to dress in self-help clothing. The zipper beat the button in 1937 in the "Battle of the Fly", after French fashion designers raved over zippers in men's trousers. Esquire declared the zipper the "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men" and among the zippered fly's many virtues was that it would exclude "The Possibility of Unintentional and Embarrassing Disarray."
HOW TO DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT ERA DESIGNER LABELS
http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource-a-z/
HOW TO IDENTIFY VINTAGE GARMENTS
including washing symbols which came in, in 1971
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5946644_identify-date-vintage-clothing.html
History of some great labels
KANGOL
Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol (the K from silk, the ANG from angora, the OL from wool) produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers. They were the major beret suppliers to the armed forces during World War II, including famously Field Marshal Montgomery.
During and after the war, Kangol berets were the height of fashion. In the 1960s, designers Mary Quant and Pierre Cardin worked with the company, whose products graced the heads of the rich and famous, including the Beatles and Arnold Palmer, and later Princess Diana. The company also supplied uniformed organisations such as the Scout Association.
In the 1980s Kangol berets entered a new phase of fashion history with their adoption by members of the hip-hop community, such as Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Kangol Kid of UTFO, and The Notorious B.I.G.. The brand was even more popularized by the 1991 movie New Jack City. The release of more consciously stylish products in the 1990s such as the furgora (angora-wool mix) Spitfire, was helped by its presence upon the head of Samuel L. Jackson in 1997.[1] Kevin Eubanks, bandleader for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, sports a Kangol beret on an almost nightly basis. In 2009, Eminem wore the Cotton Twill Army Cap Kangol hat on his Beautiful video.
Kangol has been owned by Sports World since 2006, when they acquired the brand from private equity fund, August Equity Trust. Licenses to manufacture and sell Kangol apparel have been sold to many different companies including D2 and Topshop. The global rights to Kangol hats have been held by American hatmakers Bollman Headwear since 2002.
It was announced in February 2009 that Bollman were reviewing their worldwide operations, putting 33 jobs and the future of the Kangol head office in Cleator in doubt. On 6 April 2009, it was announced that the original factory would be converted to a warehouse with the loss of 25 jobs. Only 7 employees now remain employed at the company’s original site and the outlet shop will close at the end of August 2009. However, hats will continue to be made at their sites in Eastern Europe & the United States.
BIBA one of the most confused labels for dating!
Heres the history
http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/biba/ dont buy unless you check the labels first!
Radley was a British clothing manufacturing company of the 1960s through the 1980s and owned by Alfred Radley. The company is best known for its association with the Quorum Boutique, of which it acquired controlling interest in 1969. Radley promoted the careers of many designers including: Betty Jackson, Shelagh Brown, Sheridan Barnett, Wendy Dagworthy, Rosemary Bradford and Terence Nolder (who in 1980 won the British Eveningwear Designer Award and The British Designer of the Year Award in 1981.
From Wilkipedia -
The popular "zipper" name came from the B. F. Goodrich Company; they opted to use Gideon Sundback's fastener on a new type of rubber boots (or galoshes) and referred to it as the zipper, and the name stuck. The two chief uses of the zipper in its early years were for closing boots and tobacco pouches. It was almost twenty years before the fashion industry began seriously promoting the novel closure on garments.[citation needed]
In the 1930s, a sales campaign began for children's clothing featuring zippers. The campaign praised zippers for promoting self-reliance in young children by making it possible for them to dress in self-help clothing. The zipper beat the button in 1937 in the "Battle of the Fly", after French fashion designers raved over zippers in men's trousers. Esquire declared the zipper the "Newest Tailoring Idea for Men" and among the zippered fly's many virtues was that it would exclude "The Possibility of Unintentional and Embarrassing Disarray."
HOW TO DISTINGUISH DIFFERENT ERA DESIGNER LABELS
http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource-a-z/
HOW TO IDENTIFY VINTAGE GARMENTS
including washing symbols which came in, in 1971
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5946644_identify-date-vintage-clothing.html
History of some great labels
KANGOL
Founded in Cleator, Cumbria, England in 1938 by Jaques Spreiregen, Kangol (the K from silk, the ANG from angora, the OL from wool) produced hats for workers, golfers, and especially soldiers. They were the major beret suppliers to the armed forces during World War II, including famously Field Marshal Montgomery.
During and after the war, Kangol berets were the height of fashion. In the 1960s, designers Mary Quant and Pierre Cardin worked with the company, whose products graced the heads of the rich and famous, including the Beatles and Arnold Palmer, and later Princess Diana. The company also supplied uniformed organisations such as the Scout Association.
In the 1980s Kangol berets entered a new phase of fashion history with their adoption by members of the hip-hop community, such as Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, LL Cool J, Slick Rick, Kangol Kid of UTFO, and The Notorious B.I.G.. The brand was even more popularized by the 1991 movie New Jack City. The release of more consciously stylish products in the 1990s such as the furgora (angora-wool mix) Spitfire, was helped by its presence upon the head of Samuel L. Jackson in 1997.[1] Kevin Eubanks, bandleader for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, sports a Kangol beret on an almost nightly basis. In 2009, Eminem wore the Cotton Twill Army Cap Kangol hat on his Beautiful video.
Kangol has been owned by Sports World since 2006, when they acquired the brand from private equity fund, August Equity Trust. Licenses to manufacture and sell Kangol apparel have been sold to many different companies including D2 and Topshop. The global rights to Kangol hats have been held by American hatmakers Bollman Headwear since 2002.
It was announced in February 2009 that Bollman were reviewing their worldwide operations, putting 33 jobs and the future of the Kangol head office in Cleator in doubt. On 6 April 2009, it was announced that the original factory would be converted to a warehouse with the loss of 25 jobs. Only 7 employees now remain employed at the company’s original site and the outlet shop will close at the end of August 2009. However, hats will continue to be made at their sites in Eastern Europe & the United States.
BIBA one of the most confused labels for dating!
Heres the history
http://vintagefashionguild.org/label-resource/biba/ dont buy unless you check the labels first!
Radley was a British clothing manufacturing company of the 1960s through the 1980s and owned by Alfred Radley. The company is best known for its association with the Quorum Boutique, of which it acquired controlling interest in 1969. Radley promoted the careers of many designers including: Betty Jackson, Shelagh Brown, Sheridan Barnett, Wendy Dagworthy, Rosemary Bradford and Terence Nolder (who in 1980 won the British Eveningwear Designer Award and The British Designer of the Year Award in 1981.