Blythe Hopes Vintage: style. shopping

21 January 2009

So This RN Thing

A lot of clothes manufactured in the US have either a WPL (Wool Product Label) or an RN number on the label - and these numbers can help, along with our other tools, to narrow down a date of a company.

The WPL numbers were issued by the FTC between 1941 and 1959 - so if you find an item with a WPL it means that the company that made it started between those years. It does NOT mean that your item is that old however, as the company may still be in exsistance and using the same WPL.

The same goes for RNs - these were first issued between 1952 and 1959 - after 1959 RN numbers completely replaced the WPLs.

There's a great entry about RNs and WPLs on The Vintage Pavement - Subhadra explains it really well, and has a great mathematical formula for cracking the code.

Also - check out Ikwewe's guide to RNs, WPLs and CAs - The woman is brilliant.

If your item only has an RN or WPL number and no other labels - you can find out which company owns the number here - and then use TESS to find out more about them.

See how it's all coming together?

:)

I know there are a lot of people out there who think wearing top to toe vintage would look outlandish - like you're on your way to costume party - but it's surprisingly easy to find the perfect outfit, and the quailty is going to surpass anything you find at the mall for the same price!

Here are some of my picks:

Career Girl Cool