1940s Wartime Shirt Dress with Tie-Neck in Floral Rayon Crepe by order Pelanco

1940s Wartime Shirt Dress with Tie-Neck in Floral Rayon Crepe by Pelanco

During the 1940s, floral dresses of lightweight cotton voile, silk, or rayon, were dubbed ideal afternoon dresses. Flowers have long represented renewal, beauty, and femininity. To soldiers returning from the horrors of war, women in florals represented purity, freshness, and the essence of what they had been fighting to protect.

FABRIC LABEL: Pelanco (Sweden)

LABEL INFO
Merchant P. Em. Lithander & Co was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1870 by Pehr Emanuel Lithander, and by the late 1800s it was a leading order wholesale company within the textile industry. When sons Edvard and John Lithander took over, the company went public with great success. As P. Em. Lithander & Co AB continued to broaden their portfolio of textiles, several subsidiaries were formed including AB Damkappor in the 1920s and AB Pelanco in the 1940s followed by AB Varla Konfektion. Their fabric labels held so much prestige they were stitched into dresses as a stamp of innovation and quality.
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In 1955 the company made a brave decision to shift their focus to textile machinery under the name AB Validamaskiner, subsequently closing down wholesale sales of fabrics - the company's most important field of operations. Sadly this move proved detrimental to the company. AB Pelanco was abolished in 1958, and by 1966 so was the remaining subsidiaries. AB Validamaskiner was subsequently sold off.

ITEM DETAILS:
- Flowy and slightly stretchy rayon crepe fabric with stunning paint brushed florals
- Two pointed front hip yoke
- Slight drop waist that gives the dress a flapper appeal if left unbelted
- Button down bodice with matching fabric buttons with extra snap closure at the neck
- Mock neck that extends into ribbons to be tied into a pussy bow
- Sleeves are folded up and stitched in place
- Stitched in underarm pads

VINTAGE CONDITION:
Good
- Mild stains on the back under the neck (see image)
- Soaking has caused the pink color to run leaving pink marks around the dress (see image)
NOTE: Both of the above blends with the busy floral print leaving them unnoticed when worn

ESTIMATED SIZE:
L

MEASUREMENTS:
Shoulder seam to shoulder seam - 40.7cm.