How to date vintage clothing by its labels

A piece described as "1970s" sells better than one described as "vintage", because the buyer trusts it. Dating clothing isn't guesswork. Garments carry clues: the labels sewn into them, the way they were made, the hardware, and the laws that decided what a label had to say at the time.

No single clue dates a piece on its own. Collect several, find the range where they overlap, and describe the piece with the confidence the evidence supports. This guide focuses on clothing made or sold in the United States, where labelling law gives you the most to work with.

1. Think in "no earlier than" and "probably before"

Most clues set a boundary rather than a date. A union label design first used in 1974 tells you the piece was made in 1974 or later. A care label tells you it was probably made after care labels became required. Lay the boundaries side by side and the piece's likely decade falls out of the overlap.

Two cautions before you start:

• Old stock was used for years. Factories kept using labels, zips and fabric they already had, so a piece can be a little newer than its oldest clue.
• Labels get removed and replaced. Home sewers, alterations and later relabelling all happen. When the label and the construction disagree, believe the construction.

2. The brand label

Start with the label that carries the brand name. Brands change their logos, fonts and label materials over time. Searching the brand name plus "label history" often turns up a timeline.

Look at the label itself, too:

• Woven labels with the name worked into the fabric were standard for much of the twentieth century.
• Printed satin or nylon labels, where the text sits on the surface, became common later.
• Department store labels, often with the store's name and city, appear on many mid-century pieces. Some stores that sold under their own label closed long ago, which gives you a "probably before" date.
• Size labels on their own tab, and the sizes themselves, help too. Women's sizing in the US has shifted over the decades, so a vintage size 12 can fit like a modern 6 or 8. That's also why every listing needs measurements.

3. Union labels

The union label is one of the most useful dating clues in American womenswear. The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was founded in 1900, and garments made in its members' shops carried its label. The design changed several times, and collectors, including the Vintage Fashion Guild, have matched each design to its years.

Menswear was more often made under the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, which has its own label history. The Vintage Fashion Guild's label resource is a good place to compare a label you're unsure of.

A missing union label tells you very little. Many factories were never unionised, and most imported clothing never carried one.

4. Care labels

In the US, the Federal Trade Commission's Care Labeling Rule was issued in December 1971 and took effect on 3 July 1972. From then on, most clothing sold in the US needed a permanent label with care instructions.

• No care instructions at all on a US-made piece suggests it was made before 1972, though it doesn't prove it. Labels can be cut out.
• Care instructions in words only are typical of the 1970s and 1980s.
• Care symbols (the washtub, triangle, square and circle) arrived on US labels later, and are a sign of a more recent piece. Symbols were in use in Europe earlier, so this clue works best on clothing made for the US market.

5. Fibre content and country of origin

The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act, passed in 1958 and in force from March 1960, still governs US clothing labels. Today it requires a label showing the fibre content, the maker or seller, and the country where the piece was made. Wool already had its own labelling law from the 1940s, but for cotton, silk and synthetics, a US garment with no fibre content label at all is a hint toward a date before 1960.

The fibres themselves are clues. Synthetic fibres arrived in waves: nylon from around the Second World War, polyester becoming common in clothing in the 1960s and 1970s, and spandex (also sold as Lycra) appearing in clothing from the 1960s onward. A dress that claims to be from the 1940s but lists polyester is not from the 1940s.

Country of origin follows trade history. A "Made in USA" label is common on mid-century American clothing, and imports from different countries rose and fell over the decades. On its own, the country rarely dates a piece, but it's a useful check against everything else.

6. RN and WPL numbers

Many US labels carry a number starting with RN or WPL. These identify the business responsible for the garment.

• RN stands for Registered Identification Number. The FTC issues them to US businesses that make, import, distribute or sell textile, wool and fur products, and they can appear on a label instead of the company's name.
• WPL numbers were issued earlier, under the Wool Products Labeling Act. The FTC no longer issues them, but many are still in use and work the same way.

You can look up who holds an RN using the FTC's RN database, which is useful when the brand label is missing. If the RN is legible in your photos, VYA reads it off the label for you. For dating, treat an RN as a "no earlier than" clue only. You'll see rules of thumb that convert the number into a year, but they're hard to trace to an official source, and a business keeps its RN for as long as it trades, so an old RN can appear on a new piece. A WPL number on a label generally points to an older piece, but not reliably to a specific decade.

7. Zips, buttons and other hardware

Hardware narrows the range further:

• Metal zips were standard on clothing through the mid-twentieth century. Side zips in dresses and skirts are typical of the 1930s to 1950s.
• Nylon coil zips came into wide use in the 1960s. Talon, the large American zip maker, launched its nylon coil "Zephyr" in 1960. A nylon coil zip on a dress described as 1940s should make you look again.
• Zip brands and stamps help. Many zip pulls are stamped with the maker's name. Collectors have built detailed dating guides for some makers, though a single zip only narrows the range.
• Centre back zips in dresses are more typical from the 1960s on. Earlier dresses more often closed at the side, or with buttons, hooks and snaps.
• Buttons made from early plastics, such as celluloid and Bakelite, have their own collector histories, which help if a piece's buttons look original.

Remember that zips get replaced. A modern zip in an otherwise older piece may just be a repair, which is worth mentioning in the listing.

8. Construction and seams

When labels are missing, the inside of the garment does the talking.

• Overlocked (serged) seams, where thread wraps the raw edge in a tight chain, became widespread in mass production in the later twentieth century. Earlier pieces more often have pinked edges, bound seams or seams finished by hand. VYA's listing drafts look for signals like these in your photos, along with metal zips and shoulder pads, which is one more reason to photograph the inside.
• Generous seam allowances and deep hems, left so a garment could be let out or lengthened, are more typical of older clothing.
• Hand finishing, such as hand-stitched hems, hand-sewn snaps or hand-worked buttonholes, points to older or higher-end pieces.

Shape matters too. Shoulder pads, waist height, hem length and collars follow fashion history closely, so compare your piece with dated catalogues and museum collections.

9. Putting it together: an example

Say you have a dress with a red, white and blue ILGWU label, a care label with instructions in words only, a polyester fibre content label, "Made in USA", and a nylon coil zip down the back.

• The red, white and blue union label says 1974 or later.
• The care label says 1972 or later, and words without symbols fit the 1970s and 1980s.
• Polyester and a nylon coil zip fit that range, and the cut and print will usually settle the decade.

If you can't choose between two decades, say "late 1970s to early 1980s". That's honest, and buyers respect it.

10. Say how you dated it

In the listing, put the era in the title and the evidence in the description: "ILGWU union label, care label in words only, metal zip". Photograph each label clearly. A buyer who can see the clues believes the date, and a correctly dated piece is easier to price. Our guide to pricing vintage clothing covers how era affects value, and writing listings that sell covers where to put the details.

Marketplaces have their own definitions, too. Etsy, for example, only lets items be listed as vintage when they are at least 20 years old. Check the rule wherever you sell.

A quick dating checklist

• Brand label: logo, font and label material checked against the brand's history.
• Union label: AFL-CIO, colours and union name noted.
• Care label: none, words only, or symbols.
• Fibre content and country of origin read and photographed.
• RN or WPL looked up, used only as a "no earlier than" clue.
• Zip type and maker, buttons and other hardware.
• Seam finishes, hems and hand work.
• Era stated with the evidence in the listing.

How VYA helps

VYA reads the same clues you do, and leaves the final word to you:

• Labels read from your photos: brand, fibre content, country of origin and RN number when they're legible.
• An era suggestion based on the labels and construction it can see.
• Guesses marked as guesses. If VYA isn't sure of an era or a material, it says so and asks you to confirm.
• The listing drafted for you, with a title and description you can edit before anything goes live.
• A suggested price from comparable pieces, which you can change.

Listing from photos is on every plan, with 30 AI listings a month on Starter ($49 a month), 100 on Studio ($129) and 250 on Pro ($199).

Start selling with VYA

Common questions

Dating clues narrow a range rather than prove a year. Details in this guide were checked in October 2026 against the FTC's labelling guidance and collector references such as the Vintage Fashion Guild.