CHRISTIAN DIOR Black Leather Cross Body Handbag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:
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: San Francisco, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- MARC JACOBS Black Quilted Leather Cross Body HandbagBy Marc JacobsLocated in San Francisco, CAMARC JACOBS handbag comes in a black quilted leather featuring a crossbody strap, gold tone chain link trim, dual inner compartment, and a snap button closure. Made in Italy.Good Pre...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- BURBERRY by Christopher Bailey Brown Textured Pebble Grain Leather Messenger BagBy BurberryLocated in San Francisco, CABURBERRY by Christopher Bailey bag comes in a brown textured leather featuring a messenger style, gold tone hardware, top handles, detachable crossbody strap, front flap design, inne...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- PAUL SMITH Black Pebble Grain Leather Briefcase BagLocated in San Francisco, CAPAUL SMITH briefcase bag comes in a black pebble grain leather with a stripe trim featuring a shoulder strap, top handles, and a zipper closure.Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Measu...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- PAUL SMITH Contrast Stitch Black Canvas Leather Trim Work BagLocated in San Francisco, CAPAL SMITH work bag comes in black canvas with black leather trim, contrast stitching, double top handles, detachable strap, and purple multi-compartment interior. Good Pre-Owned Cond...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- COACH Black Leather Shoulder Strap Double Closure BriefcaseLocated in San Francisco, CACOACH briefcase comes in black leather with a top flap, double faux buckle press snap closures, internal zip compartments with detachable laptop padding, and crossbody strap. "NRA" m...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- BURBERRY PRORSUM Spring 2015 Size S Coral & White Pebble Grain Leather Pouch BagBy Burberry ProrsumLocated in San Francisco, CABURBERRY PRORSUM Spring 2015 pouch comes in a coral & white pebble grain leather featuring a inner slot and a top adjustable leather string. Includes dust bag. Very Good Pre-Owned Co...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Hermès Kelly Mini II Tricolore Verso Craie/Mauve Pale/Gold Veau Epsom PHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA gorgeous Hermès Kelly Mini II Tricolore Verso handbag. The exterior of this Kelly Mini features Craie, Mauve Pale and Gold Veau Epsom leather and is compl...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
- Chanel Green Alligator Jumbo Classic Flap BagBy ChanelLocated in London, GBA rare exquisite Chanel Jumbo Classic Flap handbag. The exterior of this Jumbo Classic is in a vivid green shiny alligator leather with gold tone hardwar...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Novelty Bags
- Hermès Kelly II Retourne 28cm Caban Veau Togo PHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA classic Hermès Kelly II Retourne 28cm handbag. The exterior of this Kelly features the Retourne style in Caban Veau Togo leather and is complemented ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
- Chanel Raffia Rattan & Calfskin Vanity Case BagBy ChanelLocated in London, GBA unique Raffia handbag by Chanel. The exterior of this Raffia bag is crafted with black calfskin and neutral rattan interwoven seamlessly. It feature...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Top Handle Bags
- Hermès Mini Evelyne 16cm Chocolate Clemence GHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA lovely Hermès mini Evelyne handbag. The exterior of this Evelyne bag is crafted from chocolate Clemence leather complemented with gold-tone hardwa...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
- Hermès Limited Edition Constance 18cm Marble Silk PHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBA limited edition Hermès Constance 18cm bag. The bag features a rare technique that creates exceptional colours in the silk Orbis design. The exterior ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Novelty Bags
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.