How to Date a Vintage Garment by Its Tag

How to Date a Vintage Garment by Its Tag

You can date most American vintage clothing within a five-year window from the tag alone. The signals are in the typography, the RN number, the union label, and the stitching style.

The fast checks

• RN number (Registered Identification Number, US-only): four-digit RNs are pre-1959; five-digit are 1959 to 1998; six-digit are post-1998.
• Care symbols: standardized international care symbols are mandatory in the US from 1971 (text) and globally common from the late 1990s. Pre-1971 tags often have no laundering instructions at all.
• Union labels (ILGWU, ACWA, UNITE): present in American garments from the 1930s into the late 1990s. The label design changed multiple times and dates the garment within a few years.

Decade tells

• 1940s to 50s: handwritten or stamped sizing, woven labels, fabric content not always listed.
• 1960s: "Sanforized" label common; bright synthetic-fibre tags appear (Acrilan, Banlon).
• 1970s: care symbols start appearing; "100% Polyester" labels everywhere.
• 1980s: printed-on labels become common; logo branding moves from inside to outside.
• 1990s: larger, bolder branded tags; the start of "Made in [globalized country]."
• 2000s and later: mandatory standardized care icons globally, RN numbers six digits, fabric blends often very specific.

The stitching tells

• Single-stitch hems (one row of stitching at the bottom of a tee) typically mean pre-mid-1990s.
• Chain-stitch interior seams are a hand-loomed indicator (or a deliberate vintage repro).
• Selvedge denim with a red line in the seam usually indicates pre-1985, or a modern artisanal repro.

What dating is for

Pricing, authenticity, and styling. A 1950s dress is styled differently than a 1990s one even if they look similar on the rack. Dating tells you what era the silhouette belongs to and what to pair it with.