Vintage 1940s Knit Dress - INCREDIBLE Heavily Beaded SNAKES Wool Knitwear Beauty Size M to L

♛Details

GLORIOUS 1940s soft wool knitwear dress…midnight blue with rear buttons, lovely gored A-line skirt. This one is all about that incredible, intricate, thoroughly mesmerizing hand-beading! Reminds me of serpents dancing beneath the Milky Way at night. (<—I have a new story coming out in February in Cosmic Horror Monthly. What can I say…these are the visions that come easiest to me.)

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•Fabric(s): soft wool knit

•Closures: back buttons of deep blue swirled Lucite, metal hook/eye

•Designer/Labels: no, I think this is custom-made, and boy did they ever put work into its creation

Any accessories or belts shown in photos are prop pieces and not included unless mentioned.

♛Measurements

About a modern M to L cusp. Please allow room for movement and ease and the kind of fit you are going after. Good fabric allowances inside give this one the possibility of alteration and tailoring larger or smaller, and the rear buttons can also be easily moved around to adjust fit to suit.

Bust (underarm to underarm measured flat, then doubled) to about 40"/tight 41" 

Waist about 32"/tight 34"

Hips to about 45"/46" (~10" down from waist seam)

Shoulder to waist seam about 17"

Shoulder to hem about 44 1/2" and has 1" hem 

Shoulders - no seams

Sleeves about 9 1/2"

Armhole a nice 20" or so, as it has diamond-shaped gussets for ease of movement

♛Condition

Overall great vintage shape, especially for early wool knitwear, with a few imperfections that go unnoticed during wear and display. 75+ years old.

There are hundreds of beads, and I only found 2-3 missing from the pattern, located on one of the serpent's tails on the skirt. Not something that attracts attention. There are extra beads that could be utilized for replacements located inside the tucks of the bodice.

NOTE: two of the outer "snakes" on the skirt have a vertical seam that runs down and through them to create the gores of the skirt. Dress is not missing beads there.

I found one wee scrape/hole on the rear hem near center seam, and a few tiny scattered pinholes nearby that can't be seen unless held against a light source. I would not bother to darn, personally...a half slip is all you need, or just ignore as the imperfection is tiny and not normally noticed.

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