Label · 12 min read
Dating clothing by the label
Union labels, RN/WPL/CA numbers, care-label law, fibre-content law, country-of-origin marks. The single best dating tool, when the label survives.
If the label is intact, you can usually date a garment to within a decade and often to within five years. The methodology is layered: the design of the label itself, the regulatory information on it (or its absence), and the country-of-origin phrasing each give you a date constraint, and the intersection of constraints narrows the window.
The 1971 care label rule — the single most useful test
The US Federal Trade Commission's Care Labeling Rule took effect 3 July 1971. After that date, garments sold in the United States were required to carry permanent care instructions. The rule alone splits the entire twentieth century into two halves: garments with a sewn-in care label are almost certainly post-1971; garments with no care label are almost certainly pre-1971. Before examining anything else, check for a care label. It saves you an enormous amount of subsequent guesswork.
The rule applied to garments sold in the US. British garments adopted symbol-based care labels around the same period; the symbols differ. European garments followed their own national rules on different timelines. Couture pieces are sometimes exempt — Dior couture from the 1980s often lacks care labels because each piece is individually finished and the care instructions are conveyed verbally to the client.
Fibre content labelling, 1960 and after
The US Textile Fiber Products Identification Act of 1960 required fibre content disclosure on textile products. A label that says '100% Polyester' or '65% Dacron, 35% cotton' was almost certainly made after 1960. Some high-end manufacturers included fibre content voluntarily before 1960, but the practice was uneven. No fibre content disclosure plus no care label points to pre-1960.
RN and WPL numbers
American garments often carry an RN (Registered Number) or WPL (Wool Products Label) number — an FTC-assigned identifier for the manufacturer or importer. These numbers can be cross-referenced through the FTC's Textile Inquiry System at ftc.gov.
- RN numbers were first issued in 1959. A garment with an RN number is from 1959 or later.
- Lower RN numbers (under about 30,000) tend to indicate earlier registrations (late 1950s and early 1960s).
- WPL numbers date from 1939 onward under the Wool Products Labeling Act. Common on wool-containing American garments through the 1950s.
- CA numbers are the Canadian equivalent and appear on garments made or imported into Canada.
- The FTC database has gaps. Not every number returns a manufacturer; the absence of a result does not invalidate the number.
ILGWU labels — the design progression
The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union operated from 1900 to 1995 and labelled millions of American women's garments across that period. Label designs changed approximately every fifteen to twenty years, allowing precise dating.
| ILGWU label design | Dates | Key features |
|---|---|---|
| Various early designs | 1900–1940s | Simple text labels, multiple regional variations. Rare and worn on surviving garments. |
| 'ILGWU' in white box on red ground | 1940s–1959 | Standardised label, sewn into back neck or waistband. |
| 'Look for the Union Label' first version | 1959–1974 | Red, white, and blue design. The famous campaign slogan added. |
| 'Look for the Union Label' second version | 1974–1995 | Revised typography. The TV campaign version most viewers remember. |
| UNITE label | 1995–2004 | After ILGWU merged with ACTWU to form UNITE. |
| UNITE HERE | 2004 onward | After UNITE merged with HERE; still occasional on union-made garments. |
Country of origin — the precise ones
Country-of-origin labelling carries hard date constraints in several cases.
| Label text | Dates |
|---|---|
| Made in Occupied Japan | 1945–1952. A precise seven-year window. |
| Made in West Germany | 1949–1990. After reunification, becomes 'Made in Germany'. |
| Made in GDR / DDR / East Germany | 1949–1990. The East German equivalent. |
| Made in Czechoslovakia | 1948–1992. Becomes 'Czech Republic' or 'Slovakia' after the split. |
| Made in Yugoslavia | 1945–1992. |
| Made in USSR | 1922–1991. |
| Made in Burma (vs Myanmar) | Pre-1989. Renamed 1989. |
| Made in Ceylon (vs Sri Lanka) | Pre-1972. Renamed 1972. |
| Made in Hong Kong (British Crown Colony) | Pre-1997 in most cases. |
Couture house labels — designer-specific dating
For couture and designer pieces, the label design itself often dates within a single decade. Worth labels with embroidered cursive on petersham ribbon are 1858–1900. Dior couture labels with the model number written by hand are 1947–1989. Schiaparelli labels with the 'Place Vendôme' address are 1934–1939. Detailed designer-by-designer label history lives on each /designers/[slug] page on this site.
Frequently asked
How precise can label dating get?
For American garments with a union label, an RN number, and a country-of-origin mark, dating to within five years is routinely possible. For couture pieces with model numbers, dating to a specific season is possible if you can access the house's archive.
What about labels that have been removed or replaced?
Label removal is common when garments were resold or altered. Look for thread remnants or a small rectangle of preserved fabric at the typical label position (back neck, waistband). Without a label, date by construction features: closures, seam finishing, fabric content, and silhouette together usually narrow the window to ten or twenty years.
Are care symbols different in Europe?
Yes. The international care symbol system (the pictograms with the washtub, triangle, square, and circle) was standardised by GINETEX in 1963 and adopted across Europe gradually. The same symbols appear on US garments after the 1971 rule, but the British, French, and German wording around them differs. Pre-1963 European garments rarely have care symbols.
By Margaret Hale·Published 18 May 2026·Last reviewed 18 May 2026