how to date vintage clothes

first of all, a google search of that phrase brings back mostly pages about what to wear on a date. oh so unhelpful. secondly, i was an apparel major in college and used to ace the tests when we had to look at a garment and date it practically to the day based on fibers, construction, labels, color, and silhouette. but sometimes, i have such difficulty deciding where to place my finds on the time spectrum.
it's time to bone up on my fashion history. so far in my research, i've decided to add costume gallery to my bookmarks toolbar. they give a short overview of trends for each decade in the 20th century followed by links to other websites with more in-depth coverage of the era-characterizing bits. you can also link to their picks of the best survey books for each decade via amazon.

speaking of which, amazon told me i'd probably want to buy fashion: a history from the 18th to the 20th century. i'm pretty sure they are right. it comes in two huge hardcover volumes - one for the 18th and 19th centuries, and one, even bigger, covering the 20th century. ann steeves on craftstylish gives a loving review of the book, pretty much making me drool all over my little keyboard. extra bonus for her mentioning that the 60's and 70's sections are probably the best because those are my favorite fashion decades of the moment and i'm constantly searching for more evidence as to why. i'm entering my credit card information right now.

i'm also thinking about getting john peacock's the 1970s. i already have his 20th century fashion survey which has distracted me for hours and hours (and proved pretty helpful in studying for those aforementioned tests). his illustrations are broken down by year and then by department - day wear, evening wear, sports and leisure wear, accessories, underwear, and wedding wear. they seem to be pretty accurate as to what people were actually wearing, and to include the most pervasive and date-identifying trends. however, amazon's price on this one is not quite as good as, say, finding it at a thrift store for $1.50, so i think i'll hold out.

off to amazon now to finish buying that first book, and then back to listing clothes, which was the catalyst for this whole thought process in the first place.

see the dress that started all this trouble....

click here for the listing

i decided it's from the 1940s. i knew from the start it was gorgeous.

UPDATE: i hear this is probably actually from the 80s. damn. i need more study time!