When I buy vintage clothing I want to know that it is vintage. Click here to download pdf. Below is our guide to dating with labels.
Before we start, please read these three disclaimers! All of the images shown here are illustrations of original labels, not the original label. Labels can tell you the earliest possible date your clothing was manufactured, but not the latest. When a new union label guide here was introduced manufacturers would use up their rolls of the old label before starting on the new rolls.
Dating, we know clothes drying symbols were officially added to care labels but the process of all manufacturers introducing the change could take a number of years.
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Our St Michael dating guide is here. Care labels started to appear on clothing in the s at the same time as washing machines were becoming popular and modern synthetic fibres started to be used. The first labels were predominantly text-based and not standardised. In the UK the first standardised symbol-based system was created in by the Home Laundering Consultative Council, which evolved over the next few decades before we eventually opted to use the International Standards ISO.
The most obvious changes to spot here are the swap clothes wash numbers to temperatures and the change to an outlined hand going straight down into the tub. Below are the key changes you can use to date a care label. The additions of temperature, dry cleaning, bleaching and ironing symbols were made in The addition of the dryer symbol was made in The removal of the washing number was in and the additions of the striped bleach symbol and hand dry symbols visit web page made in there is a curious exception here, detailed in the s section below.
Although Europe were using iron, dry and bleach symbols from the late s, the first UK system only included wash symbols in white on a coloured or black background. In the UK introduced the ironing, dry cleaning and dating symbols. The background colour was removed, and washing temperatures dating added to the tubs.
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The above two examples of care labels on St Michael garments dating service both using variations of the late s care symbols. Take a look at our St Michael label dating guide to find out more about the other details on these labels that helped us to narrow down the time of manufacture. In the s care labels got the British Standard BS followed by BS and for a few years, a rather spindly appearance.
The drying symbol makes its first appearance and the pointy hand changes to a more well-rounded hand, similar to what we still use today. A few years later, inthe symbols are revised again with the clothes numbers removed. Notice that the double underline is a broken single line, rather than the two layers of lines we have on newer labels.
The order of symbols at this time is wash, bleach, iron, dry clean, dry. This is the order registered internationally with the WIPO trademarks and I have several items of clothing purchased from the late s to mid s with this order. I was most confused until I read through the descriptions and discovered they were reissued designs. Where as in this case the seller was highlighting this, care label knowledge certainly would have saved someone from a mistake purchase from a less scrupulous seller. In the order of the symbols was changed, requiring labels to show them in process order: Wash, bleach, dry, iron, dry clean.
I am confident that designers around the world could now check the washing instructions of their clothes without wincing. The other big change, which I believe to have taken place inis the inclusion of natural drying symbols dry in shade, flat dry and drip dye. I am a bit confused about this, having found conflicting information, all from reputable sources, suggestingor s. Natural drying symbols aside which I rarely see on clothing anyway the changes to note are the change from a broken underline to more info two layered underline and the re-shaping of the symbols Pictured here dating the version, the version with different wash tub waves and iron shape is pictured in the EU section below dated as as they introduced it ahead of the UK.
That brings us up to present day in the UK. The Europeans got there first with care symbols, with a handful of countries joining together to create four care clothes in These clothes in use until when we see a more familiar design come into use, with the addition of the dry symbol. Where the European symbols most obviously differ from the UK is in the do not bleach symbol, which up until was a solid black triangle see US section for an example image. The first system shown below top row is comprised of 22 symbol variations, one of each type is shown here.
Japan aligned with the International Standards inthe new symbols also shown below becoming enforced in December Dating it is fairly safe to say dating anything with the old labelling system has to be older than India first published standardised symbols inbased upon ISO The first revision they made of their standard was in"clothes" reflect the updates made in ISO The foreword to the publication states that the Indian Standard is identical to ISO pictured earlier.
The USA was a very late arrival to the care symbol system. They first made affixed care labelling text-based mandatory in July Across the border, Canada devised their own traffic light system in with the usual five symbols coloured green, amber or red.
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In that the system was updated for consistency with USA dating International standards. Clothes order for displaying the symbols is shown below and as shown, a label may not always include all five symbols. I hope this overview of care labelling systems has been informative and not too complicated.
Detailed below are the three conflicting sources I have come across, all of which are reliable. Have a read through and see if you agree with me that they were introduced in I believe this to be a mistake. Symbols for natural drying processes were added in the new Table 4 and Annex C of the edition was deleted. One of these labels is on the piece of knitwear pictured further up in this article. It belonged to my mum, so I can be sure it is definitely original!
If you know anything more about the introduction of natural drying symbols I would love to hear from dating paris. Skip to content. Vintage Clothing. Dating with care Using care labels to date vintage clothing. St Michael scarf, Related Post. Aug 22, Clothes 23, Aug 24,