How to date a vintage Vera Neumann scarf
You haven’t owned a scarf until you’ve owned a vintage Vera Neumann scarf. Her gorgeous and varied designs make her a designer that anyone can love. Vera designed from the late 1940s up until her death in 1993. Recently target has begun selling licensed Vera scarves, though these are not vintage. Here is a brief guide to dating your vintage Vera scarf.
1940s - 1950s
The earliest Vera scarves have a small signature, without a copyright logo. These were usually made from parachute silk, which was in abundance following WW2.
The makers tag was also different at this time, with the text being a more greyish color than black.
In 1959 her designers were copyrighted and the copyright symbol was added to her signature. In the 1960s Vera would add the iconic “lucky ladybug” to her signature, but a few made their way to market before or in 1959 before the copyright logo was attached. These are rare, and I have only ever come across one after looking at thousands of Vera scarves.
In the sixties, the ladybug became common.
Note the difference in the makers tag from this period.
In the later 60s her signature would grow and the “V” in Vera would become more pronounced.
In the 1970s the Vera signature would continue to grow, and the ladybug would disappear, except for a brief period in the mid 1970s when it would return for a short time before disappearing again.
Below is a 70s Vera scarf with the ladybug.
In the 80s and early 90s her signature would shrink again, and the ladybug is nowhere to be found.
When Target released a new line of Vera scarves, they were savvy enough to know that the ladybug scarves were sought after and brought back the Vera ladybug signature. Note that the signature also slants a little to the left. These are the non-vintage Vera scarves.
If you’re looking to pick up a vintage Vera scarf for yourself, or for a friend, stop by my Etsy shop, TheBirdcageVintage, for a huge selection of Vera scarves dating from the 1940s-1990s.
