Yard Sale Find: Vintage Dress

Yard saling isn’t something most people can do casually. You either love it or hate it. It isn’t shopping. It’s bargain hunting, the luck of the draw, a knack for being in the right place at the right time. It is just about the only setting in American culture where bartering is acceptable. A few weeks ago, I found a great item.

This dress was at an estate sale (ok, not exactly a yard sale but on my yard sale route), tucked in a guest bathroom, all rumpled up. It was a two-day sale and most of the other vintage clothes understandably sold the first day. This dress was still there on the second day when everything was half-off. The price tag was only $2.50 now. As I said, it was pretty rumpled up and khaki isn’t the most exciting color to catch someone’s eye. I guessed it was 60s. I added it to my pile just because it was so cheap.

After I took it home and ironed it, I was in for a surprise. The buttons (which were the reason I had guessed it was a 60s dress) were sewn on with a different color thread than the rest of the garment, which means all the 60s looking buttons were replacements, not originals. I tried the dress on. Not only did it fit, I realized that the skirt was bias cut, a technique much more commonly used in the 30s (before WWII when cutting on the bias went out of fashion because it wasted fabric). Under the interesting collar detail, where usually I would find a small metal snap for a 50s or 60s garment, there was a tiny wooden button. Another interesting detail was that there were holes just barely visible where the wearer would have had a name badge pinned on.

Once I had all my clues, I realized this was probably a 1930s or early 1940s dress. The very durable material, neutral color, and name badge suggest that it was probably a uniform.

I paired it with a 30s style hat a friend gave me, vintage shoes I purchased from a friend, and a vintage coat from Goodwill.

You never know what you might find at a yard sale…or what might be hidden in plain sight under replacement buttons. Do you have any fun stories of treasures you’ve found?