Black & White Christian Dior Medium Houndstooth Book Tote
View Similar Items
Black & White Christian Dior Medium Houndstooth Book Tote
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Style:Book Tote (In the Style Of)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU147221234632
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.
- Black & Beige Chloe Leather & Python Tote BagBy ChloéLocated in New York, NYBlack & Beige Chloe Leather & Python Tote Bag. This tote bag features a leather and python skin body, gold-tone hardware, dual rolled top handles, an exterior front pocket, and an op...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
$396 Sale Price20% Off - Taupe Celine Medium Phantom ToteBy CelineLocated in New York, NYTaupe Celine Medium Phantom Tote. The Medium Phantom Tote features a leather body, gold-tone hardware, dual rolled top handles, and an exterior zip pocket. 24.5" L x 10.5" H x 10" D,...Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Tote Bags
- Etoupe Hermes Negonda Garden Party 36 MM BagBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYEtoupe Hermes Negonda Garden Party 36 MM Bag. The Negonda Garden Party 36 MM Bag features a leather body, contrast stitching, silver-tone hardware, dual rolled shoulder straps, and a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Tote Bags
- Vintage Black & Gold Fendi Mesh & Leather Tote BagLocated in New York, NYVintage Black & Gold Fendi Mesh & Leather Tote Bag. This tote bag features and mesh and leather body, gold-tone hardware, and dual rolled shoulder straps. 1...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Tote Bags
- Black Givenchy Large Leather Buckle ToteBy GivenchyLocated in New York, NYBlack Givenchy Large Leather Buckle Tote. This tote bag features a leather body, gold-tone hardware, dual flat adjustable shoulder straps, and a front buckle closure. 15" L x 9" H x ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary European Tote Bags
- Brown Coach 2014 Duffle Sac BagLocated in New York, NYBrown Coach 2014 Duffle Sac Bag. The Duffle Sac Bag features a leather body, silver-tone hardware, neon green interior, a single flat shoulder strap, and a top zip closure. 14" L x 1...Category
21st Century and Contemporary North American Tote Bags
- Hermès Birkin 30cm Noir Veau Togo GHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBAn amazing Hermès 30cm Birkin bag. The exterior of this Birkin is in Noir Veau Togo leather with tonal stitching. It features gold tone hardware with two straps and front toggle clos...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
- Vintage 90s Chanel Suede with Fur Trim Handbag Top Handle Satchel Flap Bag PurseBy ChanelLocated in Malibu, CA🖤Soooooo Dreamy🖤 Chic and Classic CHANEL black shearling tote Black shearling trims the unbelievably soft black suede. Perfect size bag fits all the essentials and then some! Perfect for those cold winter days when you want to be warm and chic! Such a pretty and feminine vintage...Category
1990s Tote Bags
- Chanel XL cotton towel terry black and white top handle beach tote bagBy ChanelLocated in Miami, FLXL towel tote comes with XL reversible CC towel, NEVER USED Leather straps Metal Clasp closure Large CC engraved on both sides of towel Flat Bottom 20" L x ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Tote Bags
- 2011 Chanel NEW Limited Edition watercolor graffiti tote beach bagLocated in Miami, FL2011 Beautiful watercolor tote; Very sought after bag, hard to find this bag in NEW condition. Brand new never used with box, dust bag, authenticity card Very spacious, can be worn ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Tote Bags
- Hermes Birkin 35 Bag Black Porosus Crocodile Gold HardwareBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYThe rich black Hermes Birkin bag in crocodile Lisse skin with lush gold hardware is magnificent with beautiful scales. Perfect for year round wear and moves day to night. Hermes Bi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
- Hermes Birkin 35 Bois de rose matte alligator bagBy HermèsLocated in New York, NYHermes Birkin 35 Bois de rose matte alligator bag. In great pre owned condition. Has some minor wear on hardware and corners. Dust bag, keys, Clochette and locker.Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote 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.