A Christian Dior Lace Couture Gown Collection Ligne Oblique (?) Circa 1950
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Equivalent Size 36/38 (EU)
- Style:1950 (Of the Period)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Very Good Condition and Color.
- Seller Location:Toulon, FR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU63339317422
Christian Dior
When Christian Dior launched his couture house, in 1946, he wanted nothing less than to make “an elegant woman more beautiful and a beautiful woman more elegant.” He succeeded, and in doing so the visionary designer altered the landscape of 20th century fashion. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
Dior was born in Granville, on the Normandy coast, in 1905. His prosperous haute bourgeois parents wanted him to become a diplomat despite his interest in art and architecture. However, they agreed to bankroll an art gallery, which Dior opened in 1928 in Paris with a friend.
This was the start of Dior’s rise in the city’s creative milieu, where he befriended Pablo Picasso and Jean Cocteau. After seven years as an art dealer, Dior retrained as a fashion illustrator, eventually landing a job as a fashion designer for Robert Piguet, and in 1941, following a year of military service, he joined the house of Lucien Lelong. Just five years later, with the backing of industrialist Marcel Boussac, the ascendant Dior established his own fashion house, at 30 avenue Montaigne in Paris.
Just two years after the end of World War II, the fashion crowd and the moribund haute couture industry were yearning, comme tout Paris, for security and prosperity, desperate to discard the drab, sexless, utilitarian garb imposed by wartime deprivation. They needed to dream anew.
And Dior delivered: He designed a collection for a bright, optimistic future. “It’s quite a revolution, dear Christian!” exclaimed Carmel Snow, the prescient American editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, famously proclaiming, “Your dresses have such a new look.” The press ran with the description, christening Dior’s debut Spring/Summer haute couture collection the New Look. “God help those who bought before they saw Dior,” said Snow. “This changes everything.”
Dior’s collection definitively declared that opulence, luxury and femininity were in. His skirts could have 40-meter-circumference hems, and outfits could weigh up to 60 pounds. They were cut and shaped like architecture, on strong foundations that molded women and “freed them from nature,” Dior said. Rather than rationing, his ladies wanted reams of fabric and 19-inch waists enforced by wire corsets, and the fashion world concurred. The debut got a standing ovation.
In the subsequent decade, Paris ruled as the undisputed fashion capital of the world, and Christian Dior reigned as its king. With the luxuriously full skirts of his New Look, suits and his drop-dead gorgeous couture dresses and ball gowns worthy of any princess, Dior gave women the gift of glamour they’d lost in the miserable years of war.
On 1stDibs, find an exquisite range of vintage Christian Dior clothing, jewelry, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Toulon, France
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 2 days of delivery.
- A Nicole Groult / Paul Poiret Evening Dress in Velvet and Rhinestones Circa 1935By Paul PoiretLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1935 France Rare long collector's evening dress, French Haute Couture by Nicole Groult, famous sister of Paul Poiret and dating from the 1935s. Sl...Category
1930s French Evening Dresses
- A french Couture Emanuel Ungaro Little Black Dress Number 4383-10-76 Circa 1976By Emanuel UngaroLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1976 France Little black dress in velvet panne by Emanuel Ungaro Haute Couture numbered 4383-10-76 from the 1976 Collection of the ...Category
1970s French Evening Dresses
- A French Little Black Dress and Bolero By Nina Ricci Circa 1955By Nina RicciLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1955 France Little black dress and its bolero by Nina Ricci and signed Paris 55. Black stretch silk ottoman with parallel ribs allowing a tight fit and especially an interest...Category
1950s French Evening Dresses
- A Lanvin Printed Jersey Dress by Jules-François Crahay - France Circa 1972By Lanvin ParisLocated in Toulon, FRCirca 1972 France Modernist long dress in acetate jersey printed with ethnic motifs in strong polychromy by Jules-François Crahay for the House of Lanvin dating from the 1970s. Str...Category
1970s French Aesthetic Day Dresses
- A British Black Satin Burnous/Evening Cape Circa 1920/1940Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1920/1940 England Beautiful evening cape or oriental Burnous in Duchesse silk satin black labelled Bradley 1870, Court Dressmaker, Chepstow Place, Bayswater, London W. Large ...Category
1920s English Capes
- A French Little black Couture Dress in embroidered Duchesse satin Circa 1920Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1920 France Amazing little black dress, probably Haute Couture, with a minimalist graphic representing a drop of water and dating from the 1920s. Straight bag dress, V-neck, long sleeves in black Duchesse satin with a waxed sheen. Short skirt integrated into a wallet whose undulating panels are folded down in front and tied into a belt! Beautiful black and gold thread embroidery...Category
1920s French Evening Dresses
- ALAÏA 1990 black knitted mini dressBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in Genève, CHAlaïa knitted mini dress with sheer raised edge skirt -Back closing with a hidden set zipper -Long sleeves -Nude knitted lining -Made in Italy -100% V...Category
1990s Italian Mini Dress
- Jean Paul Gaultier JPG Soleil Golden Eagle Hawk Kendall Jenner Skirt Top SetBy Jean Paul Gaultier Soleil, Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier JPG Soleil Vintage Japanese Golden Eagle Koi Fish Kendall Jenner Wave Yellow Mesh Sheer Transparent Wrap T-shirt Skirt Top Dress Golden Japanese Eagle...Category
1990s Maxi Dresses
- Mariano Fortuny Black Silk Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with matte frosted colored glass beads threaded through the cordin...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Peplos
- Mariano Fortuny Black Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Black Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
Named after a ...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Textured Leather Bubble DressBy Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Alexander McQueenLocated in Berlin, BEIncredible Alexander McQueen textured leather dress with the most amazing dramatic silhouette. This high-quality dress has the most incredible round silhouette - It is made from a textured leather and features a round neckline with beautiful seam-line details, large round puff...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Too Soon for the Return of ’90s Fashion? As If
There's a renewed appreciation for the era's aesthetic, perhaps most notably among millennials seeking authentic, easy style.
14 Iconic Luxury Handbags and the Stories behind Them
When the name of a bag is as well-known as its brand, you know it's a classic.