Saint Laurent Leather Matelasse Beige Small Loulou Shoulder Bag
About the Item
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Montreal, CA
- Reference Number:
Saint Laurent
French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture.
Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, Saint Laurent also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear. By blurring gender-specific design, he empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.
Born to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately.
Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. He shook the traditional couture clientele to its core with youthful silhouettes and styles like the A-line trapeze dress that hung with seeming effortlessness from the shoulders, the antithesis of the pinched waists and molded skirts that had been all the rage after the deprivations of World War II.
After a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. Out of the ashes rose the Age of Yves. With Pierre Bergé, his then-lover who became his lifelong business partner and friend, the designer founded Yves Saint Laurent YSL to encompass prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris, followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand.
His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. It is a prime example of how Saint Laurent, an avid art lover and collector, looked to painters, from Goya to Picasso, Ingres to Matisse, for inspiration.
With its pure lines and hues, Mondrian’s ground-breaking 1935 color-block painting Composition C transmutes beautifully into a dress that is highly valued by collectors of contemporary fashion and widely copied commercially to this day. The design is the epitome of Saint Laurent’s aesthetic, requiring a meticulous hand piecing of each color block so that, despite the body’s curves, the visual plane is as flat as a canvas when the garment is worn. Mondrian’s purity met its match in Saint Laurent.
“I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,” Saint Laurent said four years before retiring, in 2002. After a long period of ill health, he died at his home in Paris on June 1, 2008. Under creative director Hedi Slimane, the house’s ready-to-wear collection was rebranded as Saint Laurent in 2012.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Montreal, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 3 days of delivery.
- Chanel Vintage Black Suede 2.55 Phone Mini Bag (Circa 2000)By ChanelLocated in Montreal, QuebecChanel bags with the code 6XXXXXX are manufactured in 2000 - 2002. COLOR: Black MATERIAL: Suede ITEM CODE: 6114846 MEASURES: H 6” x L 3” x D 1.5” DROP: 22.5” COMES WITH: Dust bag an...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Patent Calfskin Mini Rectangular Flap Green Blue XSBy ChanelLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis bag is made out of luxurious diamond quilted iridescent patent leather in gradient blue to green. The bag features a crossbody leather threaded gold chain link shoulder strap, a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Prada Vitello Daino Grey Calf Leather Satchel Bag (Bn2325)By PradaLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis satchel features a leather body, dual rolled leather top handles, a top zip closure and brown logo interior lining with a partitioned interior with pockets. COLOR: Grey MATERIA...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoulder Bags
- Louis Vuitton Damier Ebene Eva Clutch Bag (2009)By Louis VuittonLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis pochette is constructed of coated canvas with LV's signature damier ebene print. Damier means checkerboard in French. This bag features a brass chain wrist strap, top zip closure and a red fabric interior. The bag can be worn as a wristlet or as a pouch/clutch or can be clipped to a larger bag and used as a bag organizer...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Denim Quilted Coco Beach Messenger Bag BlueLocated in Montreal, QuebecThis messenger bag is constructed of diamond quilted blue denim fabric. The bag features silver chain link shoulder straps threaded and a frontal flap with a silver Chanel CC turn lo...Category
20th Century Italian Shoulder Bags
- Chanel CC Charm Metallic Quilted Crossbody Bag 2014By ChanelLocated in Montreal, QuebecIt was available to select Chanel customers during the December 2014 holiday season. Black metallic quilted material with dark silver CC logo charm and a dark sliver toned chain inte...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Shoulder Bags
- Pink leather shoulder bag with emboss brand and shoulder strap LoeweBy LoeweLocated in Saint-Ouen-Sur-Seine, FRPink leather shoulder bag with emboss brand and leather and chain shoulder strap. Branded nylon lining. Dust-bag provided. One flat outside pocket. Close with a zip on the top. 2 poc...Category
2010s Spanish Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Orange Quilted Lambskin Medium Classic Double Flap BagBy ChanelLocated in New York, NYListing Title: Chanel Orange Quilted Lambskin Medium Classic Double Flap Bag SKU: 134010 Condition: Pre-owned Handbag Condition: Very Good Condition Comments: Item is in very good c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Red 2013 CC Shoulder BagBy ChanelLocated in Atlanta, GAA striking red lambskin leather shoulder bag with gold hardware, zipper closure, and a satin-lined interior featuring three pockets and an additional exterior CC turnlock pocket. SP...Category
2010s French Shoulder Bags
- Chanel Classic Peach Pink Timeless Double Flap Caviar 10" Shoulder BagBy ChanelLocated in Pasadena, CAChanel Classic Peach Pink Timeless Double Flap Caviar 10" Shoulder Bag *1444XXXX * Made in France *Comes with the original box, dustbag, tag and control number bar *Silver Hardware ...Category
2010s French Structured Shoulder Bags
- Bottega Veneta Almond Calfskin Leather Medium Point BagBy Bottega VenetaLocated in New York, NYListing Title: Bottega Veneta Almond Calfskin Leather Medium Point Bag SKU: 113922 MSRP: USD 3,200.00 Condition: Pre-owned (3000) Condition Description: Crafted entirely out of a luxuriously smooth calfskin leather, the Bottega Veneta Point Bag...Category
2010s Structured Shoulder Bags
- Gucci Small Sylvie Wicker Top Handle BagBy GucciLocated in New York, NYListing Title: Gucci Small Sylvie Wicker Top Handle Bag SKU: 129144 Condition: Pre-owned Handbag Condition: Very Good Condition Comments: Very Good...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Shoulder Bags
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How to Spot a Fake YSL Bag
Counterfeiters know that savvy fashionistas cherish YSL bags. Learn how to tell if yours is the real deal. Of course, you don't have to worry about that on 1stDibs, where every seller is highly vetted.
This Golden Saint Laurent Handbag Feels Like a Disco-Era Throwback (in the Best Way Possible)
If you're looking for an accessory that brings the party, this is it.