Burberry Label Dating Guide: How to Identify Every Era

One of the most reliable ways to date a vintage Burberry is to read the woven label. Over the brand's 160-plus-year history, the wording, typography, and accompanying care information changed in lockstep with broader industry standards and corporate rebranding. Once you know the key markers for each era, you can narrow a piece down to a rough decade — sometimes even a specific five-year window — before you look at anything else.

Pre-1960s: Early Woven Labels

The oldest pieces you are likely to encounter carry labels reading "Thomas Burberry" or simply "Burberrys" (with the possessive s that was used almost from the beginning). These labels were typically woven in a single colour on a plain ground — no country of origin statement, no care symbols, no RN or union marks. Construction will be entirely hand-finished in critical areas. Pre-1960s Burberry is genuinely scarce outside specialist auction houses; treat any claim of pre-war dating with healthy scepticism unless accompanied by provenance documentation.

1960s–1970s: "Burberrys of London"

The label wording during this period reads "Burberrys of London" — the full form with both the possessive s and the city reference. This is perhaps the most iconic form of the label, and pieces from this era are the sweet spot of the vintage Burberry market: mature manufacturing quality, classic design language, and still relatively abundant supply.

Key dating markers for this era:

• No care symbols before 1971. International care-symbol labelling (the GINETEX system) was introduced in the early 1970s. A Burberry with the full "Burberrys of London" label but no care symbols dates to pre-1971.
• Union marks. UK-made garments from the 1960s and into the early 1970s sometimes carry a small Clothing Workers' Union label. Its presence is a strong indicator of domestic manufacture in this window.
• Country of origin. "Made in England" begins to appear as a separate label or woven into the main label during the late 1960s, partly in response to new import-labelling regulations in key export markets.

1980s: Care Labels, RN Numbers, and "Made in England"

By the 1980s three things become standard across Burberry's main line:

1. Mandatory care labels. UK regulations (and US FTC rules for export garments) required care instructions from this period. A separate woven or printed care label almost always accompanies the main label.
2. "Made in England" on the main label or on a secondary country-of-origin label. This was both a legal requirement for export and a marketing statement — Burberry leaned into its British heritage heavily during this decade.
3. RN numbers (Registered Number / Retail Number). US-exported garments carry an RN or WPL number on the care label; these can be cross-referenced against FTC records to confirm manufacturer and sometimes narrow the date range.

Hardware on 1980s pieces is typically very strong: solid brass buckles, often stamped with the Burberry name, genuine horn or high-quality resin buttons, and D-rings cast in heavier gauge than later production.

Late 1990s: The 's' Drops — "Burberry London"

Around 1999, as part of the relaunch associated with chief creative officer Christopher Bailey and CEO Rose Marie Bravo, Burberry dropped the possessive s from its name. Labels shift from "Burberrys of London" to "Burberry London". This is one of the clearest single-date markers in the entire label chronology — if a piece says "Burberry London" it is 1999 or later; if it says "Burberrys" in any form it predates the rebrand.

Country of origin labels also begin to diversify at this point as production shifted away from England to other manufacturing locations.

2000s: The Christopher Bailey Era — Prorsum, Brit, and London

The post-1999 line structure split into three tiers:

• Burberry Prorsum — the runway and premium ready-to-wear line. Prorsum is Latin for "forward" and references the equestrian knight in the brand's heraldic crest. Prorsum labels are found on the most expensive, most design-forward pieces.
• Burberry London — the main diffusion line, available globally.
• Burberry Brit — a more casual, slightly younger-skewing line introduced in the early 2000s. Brit labels are common on casual outerwear, knitwear, and accessories from this era.

These tiers were eventually collapsed back into a unified "Burberry" label under Riccardo Tisci (from 2018), so a piece with a simple "Burberry" label and no tier designation is almost certainly post-2018.

Japan Lines: Blue Label, Black Label, Thomas Burberry Label

From the 1970s through to approximately 2015, Burberry licensed its name to the Japanese company Sanyo Shokai for domestic Japanese distribution. These lines produced enormous volumes and are extremely common in the Japanese vintage market — and by extension in global vintage resale:

• Blue Label (ブルーレーベル) — women's diffusion line. Labels read "Burberry Blue Label" with Japanese care information. Quality is genuinely good — Sanyo used Japanese manufacturing standards — but the design language is distinctly Japanese: lighter construction, more feminine silhouettes, printed linings, and proportions cut for Japanese body types.
• Black Label (ブラックレーベル) — men's diffusion line. Similar manufacturing quality, more tailored/smart-casual focus.
• Thomas Burberry Label — a sportswear-adjacent sub-brand. Label reads "Thomas Burberry" (echoing the founder's name) and is separate from both the Blue and Black label lines.

After Sanyo's licence ended around 2015, a successor company launched Burberry Blue Label CRESTBRIDGE and Black Label CRESTBRIDGE, which use the Burberry-adjacent "Crestbridge" trademark. These post-2015 pieces are not licensed Burberry — they are a separate brand.

Country of Origin as a Secondary Cross-Check

• "Made in England" is most consistent on pieces from the 1970s through mid-1990s.
• Production diversified to other countries through the 1990s and 2000s.
• Japanese licensed pieces (Blue/Black Label) will say "Made in Japan".
• A mismatch between label era and country of origin is a flag worth investigating.

Pro Tip: Stack the Evidence

No single label detail is conclusive on its own. Authentic vintage Burberry dating relies on cross-referencing:

• Label wording and typography
• Presence/absence of care symbols
• Country of origin
• Hardware style (buttons, buckles, D-rings)
• Lining material and construction (original wool check lining vs later synthetic)
• Stitching density and seam finishing

When all five or six data points point to the same era, you can date with confidence. When something doesn't match, investigate before you buy.

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