Vtg Late 1930s 30s Art Deco Geometric Studded Cranberry Crepe Dress Small - XS

Up for auction is a stunning vintage studded dress from the late 1930s.  I believe this dress dates most likely to 1937-1940, but if I had to put a date on it I would say 1937 would be the best year, as this style of dress and collar were extremely popular that year.  Studded dresses like this were extremely popular from the early 1930s into the 1940s, made popular at first by high end couturiers like Chanel (this is not, to my knowledge, a designer name dress as no label is present).

*This dress is truly a magnificent example of  late1930s dressmaking.  It does not appear home made, but was most likely either purchased at a store (no label is present but could have been removed) or was custom made, most likely for a wealthy client as it is superior in construction and fabric to most dresses I have seen that remain from this era.

*The fabric is a lovely crepe and is butter soft... I'm not sure of content but I would guess a rayon or possibly even a silk.  The front is like a crepe, the back side of the fabric appears very shiny and smooth, similar to a satin.

*It has a magnificent chevron design constructed of applied studs in a coppery-gold and silver.  These accent both the center front bodice and up both sleeves.

*The construction of the sleeves is exquisite, with the motif of the chevrons going up the arm and across the top of the shoulder on an applied band.  Upon close inspection this band was most likely hand sewn, which would indicate a very expensive piece!

*The collar is high and rolled at the front, and fastens at center back with a hook and eye, where the collar forms a fantastic point so characteristic of 1930s fashion.

*The skirt hits below the knee, and the sleeves are puffed, formed with deep pleats on either side of the applied band.  The bodice has a blousey, loose fit, but the skirt fits snuggly at the hips.

*The dress fastens up the side with snaps and a hook and eye.

*The color of this dress is quite hard to capture on camera.  I think it is best described as similar to jellied cranberry sauce.  It may appear different in person than it does on your computer screen, depending on settings.

*An image above is supplied of me wearing the dress. I only wore it once since I've owned it.

A note about the back bow-  When I purchased this dress it was in worse condition than it is now, and I have done repairs to bring the quality and wearability of the dress in it's current state to a better condition.  I have an education in fashion design, and previously worked doing alterations and construction for one of the top Opera companies in the USA.  When this dress was purchased (for a pretty penny several years ago), it had larger holes at the center back bodice, which would have snagged or grown throughout time.  To remedy this, the back belt had an applied bow which was taken apart and used for fabric to create an attached bow over the patched holes and "fray check" at center back bodice in order to make this dress more wearable.  It is now in more wearable condition than it was when purchased, and the belt fastens underneath half of the bow with snaps.  It was the best method I could find for preserving the dress and not making it have awkward large patches at the back bodice. Both views of the outside of the bow and the interior of the bodice are shown here for your reference.  This repair has fooled even some very knowledgeable vintage experts when viewed externally, so I feel it is in line with the dress' vintage era, but was a good middle ground for preservation for use.  More repairs will be noted in condition (along with another copy of this paragraph pasted), but this is the only change that was made to the original dress design while the dress was in my hands.

Please view the pictures below for illustrations of some of the condition issues described above.