First things First

     Since my first object (Andrew's plaque) is no longer part of the exhibit, I have now begun my research on Vicki's dress and coat.

     I was over at First Person Art's today and got some one on one time with the dress and its accompanying cape. So, after a lot of looking, feeling, measuring and smelling, this is what can be said:

     The dress:
          Has some weight to it, next time I may visit with a scale to see just how much.

          The waist is 24 inch's, making it about a size 4 US today.  The bust is 29 inch's. The total length of the dress including the spaghetti straps is 38 3/4 inches. Length from the waste is 23 1/2 inches. The dress would come somewhere to or just beyond the knees. There are pleats on the front and back beginning at the waste line. The straps are thin. The left strap has an applied bow made of the same fabric as the straps and dress.

         When I took a look inside the dress it appeared as if it had been homemade using a sewing machine and by hand methods.  There are no manufacturer tags, no cleaning instruction tags, no interior markings at all. The dress has no lining to hid the seams. It looks like there is ample fabric left for alterations to be made, or as a result of previous alternations. In other words if someone grew, it could be let out. There is ample room to let the hem down nearly another three inches. The bust out two inches and the waste another two inches.

          The fabric is solid red velvet. The likely hood of it being real velvet (made 100% of silk) is slim. The cost of pure velvet is very, very high. It is probably a combination of silk and rayon, a mixture commonly used to simulate velvet fabric. The fabrics reverse side (interior of the dress) is not velvet. This is what makes me think it is not real velvet. The stitching is also done with red threat. There is red fabric (smoother, not velvet) lining the interior bust area, about 3 inches wide all the way around. 
 
         There is a zipper on the right side of the dress which goes from the top right under the arm to several inches below the waste line with a small metal hook at the half way point. The hook, like those you would find on a bra closure attaches to a loop of red fabric on the other side of the zipper.

          The zipper on the dress gave me a little incite into the age of the piece. The zipper is metal, and is made of either brass, aluminum or nickle. Today, most zippers are made of nylon or other plastic combination's and usually are marked YKK for the zipper manufacturer who produces nearly 90% of the worlds zippers. The pull on the zipper of Vicki's dress was not YKK but was marked with the name "conmatic" in a diagonal pattern with lines on either side of it. The zippers manufacture date was between 1954 and the mid 1960's and was produced by the Conmar Products Corporation. Originally based in Newark, NJ Conmar brand is now owned by a fastening company in New York City.  The zipper was marketed to be the first snag free zipper and was commonly used on men's military and civilian jackets. The zippers came in silver and gold. This zipper is silver on the interior of the dress and was painted red on the outside with a red zipper pull.

     The dress is clean, but shows some age. It has no strong smell but when I put my nose up to it I could detect that "old clothing" smell you notice in vintage clothing stores in an old closet.

     The Cape:
          Initially I thought this was going to look like a traditional coat. There was not image of the coat, just the dress. So, when I arrived to the First Personal Arts office I was surprised to see that it was not a coat at all but a cape.

          The cape is made of the same fabric as the dress. It is reversible however and has a white/ivory faux fur/fluffy cotton interior. The cape is 46 inches long and comes about 1/4 inch below the hem of the dress. There is one closure point at the top of the cape near the neck. There is a matching 2 inch button on both sides (red on the red, white on the white). The two different colors look like they were separately made and sew together using white thread. Each side has two pockets, one for each hand.

           There are sleeves on the cape. They look like a 3/4 length style. They measure 19 3/4 inches from the neck to the end of the sleeve. The neck itself unfastened is 26 1/2 inches and 16 inches when buttoned closed.  The entire cape is 40 inches long.  The cape tapers from the bottom to the top with the bottom measuring 76 inch round gradually transitioning up to the neck (26 1/2-16 inches).

          The red side of the cape is in similar condition to the dress. The white/ivory side shows a bit more wear with some gray patchy marks throughout. 

         The smell of the cape is consistent with the dress. The weight of the cape is considerably greater then the dress.
       

OK, so I never knew I could say so much about a dress. I'm moving forward and am going to contact the zipper company to see if I can narrow down the zippers exact date. The back says "made in USA N 44" but I was unable to find anything about those markings. I'm hoping the manufactures can point me in the right direction or at least tell me what the N 44 means.


Victoria-