Vintage 1950s Gold Brocade Frederick Starke Dress with Belt, Small
Vintage 1950s Gold Brocade Frederick Starke Dress with Belt, Small
This is a vintage 1950s gold brocade dress by English midcentury couturier Frederick Starke. It has long sleeves, a collar, a skinny belt and sits at the natural waist (in a curved shape). There are fabric manipulation darts/pleats at the left side seam, below the waist. It fastens with a zip at the side and with snap fasteners and hooks at the front.
COLOR: Gold, black.
MATERIAL: Satin. Unlined.
LABEL: Frederick Starke. Made in England.
Freddy, as he was known, was supposedly a real character. He started his label in the 1920s and opened his wholesale couturier in Mayfair, London in 1933. After a WW2 bombing, his premises moved to Bruton Street. He also designed costumes for movies and TV, most famously for Honour Blackman in the British Series 'The Avengers', in the 60s.
He was featured in the 1961 issue of Woman and Beauty. The article, entitled “Presenting Frederick Starke”, revealed Starkes' uncompromising views on what makes a woman well dressed.
'Like most men, he is adamant about the importance of dressing to suit the occasion, has no time for the “woman who is so busy being well dressed that she wears black and pearls to an evening coffee party.”
On being well dressed: It’s an art any woman can learn- if she sticks to the rules.” And those rules? One: buy a simple, inexpensive, basic dress or suit. No one will know whether you paid five or fifty guineas for it. Two: pick it in a cool, unclashing colour which will tone beautifully with everything.Three: add one really gorgeous piece of jewellery. And four: pay a small fortune (or the nearest you can afford) for shoes, bag and gloves. Nothing, but nothing, beats the fashion impact of real leather, expensively handled.” '
There you have it!
CONDITION:
Unfortunately, this darling dress has some issues. There is a 3" tear in the back right armhole seam area. We would love to see this piece get the repairing it needs in order to bring it back to full vitality.
An additional pattern piece was added to the underarm gusset on the left side, which makes it more roomy than the other side.
Some other minor notes:
A faint red mark on the edge of the front left side bodice, hidden underneath the other side.
Faint marks on the armpits.
One eye hook is loose (chain stitch loop).
The silk cover of the belt buckle is worn. One other area on the belt, beside the snap fastener, also has damage.
Needs a good steam!
Priced as-is.
MEASUREMENTS:
✂--- Allow for some ease.
Bust: 36 in. (91.5 cm)
Waist: 26 in. (66 cm)
Hip: 37 in. (94 cm)
Sleeve Length: 21 in. (53.5 cm)
Length from shoulder to waist: 16 in. (40.5 cm)
Length from waist to hem: 26 in. (66 cm)
Thank you for taking the time to check out this listing. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you require additional photos or if you have any questions or concerns.
Check out the rest of our women's designer dresses in the collection below:
Import Duties
Import Duties
We are located in Canada. International customers are responsible for paying all VAT Import Customs and Handling charges that may occur upon delivery. If a customer does not pay these fees, and the package is returned to us, the customer will be billed for the return shipping cost.
Please provide your phone number at checkout.
Shipping Information
Shipping Information
We offer Domestic and International shipping to the following countries:
Canada
The United States
Australia
New Zealand
Japan
The UK and British crown dependencies (*except Northern Ireland)
If you are not located in the above countries, you may look into package forwarding services. You may be able to utilize a service that can forward your package to your preferred destination.
We are currently unable to offer shipping to E.U. countries due to the demands of the E.U. General Product Safety Regulations that came into effect on December 13th 2024.
All purchases are shipped through either Canada Post, USPS or Asendia via ChitChats. If you have a FEDEX account, we would be glad to use that if you prefer. Please email your FEDEX number to us at iandrummondvintage@gmail.com after your purchase.
Our studio hours are Monday - Friday from 9am to 5pm EST. Our studio is closed on the weekends and therefore staff are not available for shipping orders on the weekends.
We typically make two weekly trips to the post office, usually on Monday and Friday afternoons. If you need your item shipped express, you may choose this option at checkout and we will ship the same day if possible.
RATES:
Shipping estimates are given at checkout. We use Chit Chats or Canada Post's/USPS' "Find a Rate" calculator to set our shipping profiles. However, if the actual shipping cost is higher than estimated, we will contact you before shipping to discuss the additional fees. If you would still like to go ahead with the order, we will bill you via Paypal.
We will happily provide more exact shipping quotes and make adjustments with your address provided. We can also combine orders upon request. You can contact us via email: iandrummondvintage@gmail.com. Please note that we are closed on the weekends and do not answer emails until Monday morning.
If the cost is lower than what is quoted at checkout, we will refund you the difference immediately.
We send all of our packages out with tracked shipping and with a return service guarantee if undelivered. The tracking number will be sent to you in your shipping confirmation email. You may request for us to send an item untracked for cheaper shipping only if the item is under $100 in value. In this case, we would not be responsible for lost packages.
Items are neatly folded, packed in fresh tissue and sent in either water resistant, tear-proof polyethylene envelopes; padded manila envelopes; or bagged and then placed in shipping boxes and wrapped in mylar or postal wrap paper. We take care to protect the items while shipping, and don't charge for anything other than postal costs.
CANADIAN SHOPPERS:
Depending on location, delivery time for letters and parcels can be from 6-8 business days, but weeks longer isn't unheard of when crossing the country. We do our best to package so as to minimize shipping costs - but over 2 kilograms are necessarily more expensive. Xpress Post (2 business days) and Priority (1 business day) are available at Canada Post's prices.
USA & INTERNATIONAL SHOPPERS:
Please note that especially around holidays and due to customs or border issues, shipping times of 10-12 weeks are not uncommon, and even some of the "faster" options are delayed beyond the estimated business days posted. Because each item is unique, we can't replace items, and request that they are given a little more time to travel.
If an item does not arrive in the shipping time-frame, we will start the refund process.
If an item turns up after we've refunded, we trust that our honest and understanding customers will contact us and offer to make payment. Though shipping times have been heinous sometimes, packages are very rarely lost.
It helps us to fill out the customs forms if you'll provide us with your telephone number.
You are responsible for all VAT, import fees, duties and taxes imposed by your country. We cannot falsify customs forms. These charges are your responsibility; we have no control over this -- please do not confuse them with additional shipping charges.
Returns
Returns
Please email us within 48 hours of receipt of an item if you intend to request to make a return. All return shipping costs must be paid for by the customer and a tracking number must be provided. Your item must be sent back unworn or unused and in the condition it was sent in, with the same care as to the packing method. Once we have received the item back, we will process the refund of the item back onto your payment method. Please note, the shipping cost does not get refunded.
A note on purchasing our vintage items in the hopes of minimizing returns:
- Our listings are carefully described and measured with detailed condition evaluations so that you can shop with confidence. Please read the entire listing carefully before purchasing and do take the time to view each photo provided.
- We do not manufacture any of these items - they are all pre-owned or deadstock from store closures.
- Please keep in mind that most vintage clothing and items have likely worn or used before. Even 'New Old Stock' may have flaws from its manufacture or previous storage. Due to the nature of these items, there may be imperfections. We do our best to note the flaws but we may miss trivial ones - we take great care to represent everything carefully. If we have missed something, please let us know as soon as possible and we will try to rectify the situation.
- Please measure yourself or a like item of clothing to ensure a suitable fit. Minor alterations might be necessary for the best fit to your figure, as with any item of clothing. If you need more information, please message us - we are industry professionals and understand working with clients at a distance. We will happily provide extra measurements or images upon request.
- We often sell very distressed items for craft purposes, for study/patterns, for "character" costuming or to just get them into the hands of a collector if they seem to have a specific interest or provenance. We make every effort to represent this accurately.
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