Christian Dior Sleeveless Dress 42 FR
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 42 FR (EU)
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:DOUBLE BAY, AU
- 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: DOUBLE BAY, Australia
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- Gucci Iridescent Emerald Green Pleated Silk Blend Mini Dress 38 ITBy GucciLocated in DOUBLE BAY, NSWBrand: Gucci Product: Pleated Silk Blend Mini Dress Size: 38 It Colour: Emerald Green Material Silk 65% & Polyester 35% Condition: Pristine; New Or Never Worn Details -...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Chanel Black Shift Dress 42 FRBy ChanelLocated in DOUBLE BAY, NSWBrand: Chanel Product: Shift Dress Size: 42 Fr Colour: Black Material: Outer: 56% Viscose & 44% Silk Lining: 73% Polyester & 27% Elastane Condition: Excellent: The produc...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Gucci Tweed Red & Off-White Tunic Dress 38 ITBy GucciLocated in DOUBLE BAY, NSWGucci Tweed Red And Off-White Tunic Dress Brand: Gucci Product: Tweed Red & Off-White Tunic Dress Size: 38 It Colour: Red & Off-White Material 46% Wool, 31% Acrylic, 16% Polyester, 6% Polyamide, 1% Viscose Condition: Pristine; New Or Never Worn Details - Round Neckline - Shoulder Button Detals - 2 Front Pockets - Short Sleeves - Lining: 73% Acetate & 27% Silk Accompanied By: Gucci Garment Bag...Category
2010s Cocktail Dresses
- Chanel Black Slip Dress 40 FRBy ChanelLocated in DOUBLE BAY, NSWBrand: Chanel Product: Slip Dress Size: 40 Fr Colour: Black Material: Outer: 100% Silk Lining: 100% Silk Condition: Excellent: The product is in excellent condition, displa...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Christian Dior Black Fitted Dress 40 FRBy Christian DiorLocated in DOUBLE BAY, NSWBrand: Christian Dior Product: Fitted Dress Size: 42 Fr Colour: Navy Material: Outer: 77% Wool & 23% Silk Lining: 100% Silk Condition: Excellent: The product is in exce...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Christian Dior Pink Dress Size 42 FRBy Christian DiorLocated in DOUBLE BAY, NSWBrand: Christian Dior Product: Above Knee Dress Size: 42 Fr Colour: Pink Condition: Excellent: The product is in excellent condition, displaying minimal signs of wear. The pro...Category
2010s Day Dresses
- Runway Yves Saint Laurent S/S 1989 Lipstick Red Rayon Jersey Strapless 80s DressBy Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in San Diego, CASensational vintage YSL Rive Gauche spring / summer 1989 runway lipstick red rayon jersey strapless 1980s dress ! The same dress was featured on the runway in black. Sash at side wai...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Andrea Wilkin 1970s Silk Ivory Fantasy Bridal Dress in Edwardian StyleBy Andrea WilkinLocated in London, GBThis exquisite Andrea Wilkin 1970s fantasy bridal gown in soft ivory exudes femininity and is in wonderful condition. Layers of silk fabric are beautifully arranged to create the cla...Category
1970s British Wedding Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier Optical Illusion Nude Ethic Trompe l'oeil Vanessa Guide DressBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRJean Paul Gaultier Optical Illusion Nude Body Ethic Trompe l'oeil Venus Stiped Mesh Maxi Dress Jean Paul Gaultier Optical Illusion ...Category
1990s Maxi Dresses
- Jean Paul Gaultier Jean's Floral Red Black Vampire Vintage 90s Maxi Long DressBy Jean Paul GaultierLocated in PARIS, FRFloral maxi dress by Jean Paul Gaultier! Floral print with Gaultier Jean`s writings on it, a Gaultier staple, probably from the 1998 collection! Gaultier Jean`s tab with skulls on th...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses
- CHANEL 2010 NAVY BLUE SILK DRESS size XSBy ChanelLocated in Montgomery, TXCHANEL Chanel dress is made of navy silk. Sleeveless, fitted silhouette, fastening with Gripoix buttons. 2010s, France. Content: silk Size XS Bust: 31.5" • Waist: 25.2" • N...Category
2010s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1990s Moschino Couture It's All So Simple Black Sleeveless Shift DressBy MoschinoLocated in San Francisco, CAVintage 1990s Moschino Couture black and white sleeveless sheath dress with "It's all so simple" embroidery at front. Back zip. 52% acetate, 48% rayon. Fully lined in 60% acetate, ...Category
1990s Italian Casual 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.