Vintage Christian Dior by John Galliano Dirty Denim & Leather Coat Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 40 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU458565302
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: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Vintage Versace Yellow Giraffe Print Dress with Fur CollarBy VersaceLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Versace chestnut brown and banana yellow giraffe print turtleneck long-sleeved dress featuring a removable tan and brown fur collar and center back zipper and gemstone button...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Day Dresses
- Vintage Pierre Cardin Chrome Metal Necklace Dress with Metal Cuffs 1968By Pierre CardinLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Pierre Cardin black wool cocktail dress that features an attached chrome metal necklace and bracelet cuffs, slim body, center front slit, center back zipper and below the kne...Category
1960s French Day Dresses
- Vintage Alexander McQueen Flag Panel Strapless Dress 1998 Untitled CollectionBy Alexander McQueenLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Alexander McQueen strapless blue Prince of Wales check and black wool "Flag" panel dress with center back zipper. From the Untitled Spring / Summer 1998 Collection. Excell...Category
1990s Day Dresses
- Junya Watanabe Black Twist Dress With Lace Insets 2007By Junya WatanabeLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garcons black wool jersey twist dress with the button placket and lace inse...Category
Early 2000s Japanese Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Vintage Janice Wainwright Black Embroidered Art Deco Maxi GownBy Janice WainwrightLocated in Los Angeles, CAVintage Janice Wainwright Art Deco-inspired black wool long sleeve maxi dress featuring an embroidered pendant necklace at the neckline, fron...Category
1970s British Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Balenciaga Grey Wool Cubist Dress 2002By BalenciagaLocated in Los Angeles, CAResurrection Vintage is excited to offer a vintage Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquiere grey wool "cubist" dress featuring black leather trim, blue denim insets, asymmetrical sleeves, sc...Category
Early 2000s French Day Dresses
- Vivienne Westwood brown shearling coat dress, fw 1992By Vivienne WestwoodLocated in London, GBVivienne Westwood brown shearling coat dress. High neck, signature Westwood Orb buttons, fitted waist and flared skirt. Fall-Winter 1992Category
1990s Italian Coats and Outerwear
- Roberto Cavalli Glorious Flowing Multicolor Floral Caftan-Like MaxiBy Roberto CavalliLocated in New York, NYRoberto Cavalli wonderfully glorious flowing multicolor floral caftan-like maxi coverup has an optional self-tie if desire. The belt measures 68 i...Category
Early 2000s Italian Caftans
- Stunning 1960s Vintage Silk + Wool Pink and Brown Striped Coat + Dress EnsembleLocated in Sparks, NVThis might be the best sewing we have ever seen! The detailing is absolutely incredible! Every stitch is perfectly placed and each stripe lines up at the seam exactly. This coat and ...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
- MORPHEW COLLECTION 1970S Patchwork Velvet & Japanese Musicians Tapestry DusterBy MorphewLocated in New York, NYMORPHEW COLLECTION 1970S Patchwork Velvet & Japanese Musicians Tapestry Duster With Beaded Fringe MORPHEW COLLECTION is made entirely by hand in our ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Coats and Outerwear
- 1980s Galanos Asymmetric Grey Coat DressBy GalanosLocated in Scottsdale, AZThis piece is giving us vintage meets Jacquemus vibes! This incredible 1980s Galanos piece can be worn open as a coat or closed as a dress- it's up to you! Dark cool grey fabric with...Category
1980s American Day Dresses
- ISSEY MIYAKE Black Long Sleeve Rib Knit Detail Full Length Coat DressBy Issey MiyakeLocated in Thiensville, WIIssey Miyake black cotton rib knit detail long sleeve full length coat dress. Square bateau neckline. Drop shoulder. Long sleeves with rib knit panel from shoulder to elbow. Underarm...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Japanese Informal 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.