A part of the Left Bank intellectual crowd who shared her mother’s fondness for fashion, Chloé cofounder Gaby Aghion was inspired to empower independent working women to break from the conservative dress of the 1950s and don more free-spirited, feminine designs that were appropriate for both work and social life.
Born in Alexandria, Egypt, Aghion established her fashion house in Paris in 1952 with her business partner Jacques Lenoir to develop her own source of income, separate from her husband’s. She was one of the first designers to embrace the concept of luxury prêt-à-porter as a middle ground between haute couture and off-the-rack for the masses.
In 1964, Aghion hired a fledgling Karl Lagerfeld as a designer. The pair would bring Chloé into the international spotlight with their easy yet glamorous lines that drew such fans as Jacqueline Kennedy. Lagerfeld became the staff creative lead at Chloé in 1974 and stayed with the brand until 1983, during which time he became known for his romantic silk dresses that continued Aghion’s feminine vision and were a favorite of the “rich hippie” set. In 1988, then-unknown designer Martine Sitbon took the helm of Chloé for several years before Lagerfeld returned as creative director from 1992 to 1997, drawing all of the iconic 1990s supermodels to his runway.
After his second departure, Chloé tapped yet another early-career designer to lead the label: a punky 25-year-old Stella McCartney, who earned the position not because of her famous lineage (she’s the daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney), but because of her fashion education at Central Saint Martins and work experience on London’s Savile Row and at Christian Lacroix. Following McCartney’s exit to launch her own line in 2001 — not long after introducing the diffusion label See by Chloé that year — Chloé named Phoebe Philo to the post.
Under Philo’s leadership, Chloé expanded from women’s clothing to an accessories line — including handbags — and debuted the legendary Paddington bag in 2005. The padlocked satchel, notorious for weighing a hefty three pounds while empty, became one of the “It bags” of the decade (the brand’s double-handled Marcie holds its own in that regard); the entire 8,000-bag initial production run sold out via preorders.
Philo left Chloé in 2006; her successors include, among others, Clare Waight Kelle and Natacha Ramsay-Levi, who announced that she would be departing the house in late 2020. Part of Chloé’s decades-long lasting influence — which we’d like to speculate would appease Aghion greatly — is the brand’s dedication as a career-launching platform for newbie designers, particularly women.
Browse an extraordinary inventory of vintage Chloé handbags, day dresses, shoes and more on 1stDibs.
Chloé Noir, Black Cotton Silk Velvet Large Women Belt
By Chloé
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Chloé Noir, black cotton silk velvet large women belt. Categories : Women Category: Accessories Sub-category: Belts Designer: Chloé Condition: Very goo...
Cotton
Cash Register, “National”, circa 1900
Located in Kastrup, DK
Cash register in nickel-plated chased brass with white marble edge. “National”, Dayton Ohio, USA, 1880-1910. A very decorative object. It works, but 100% functionality is not guaran...
Marble, Metal
18th Century German Pewter Passover Plate
Located in New York, NY
Pewter passover tray, Germany, 18th century. The outer rim has wriggle- work engraving of the order of the Seder service, along with a pair of birds fl...
Pewter
$345
H 16.54 in W 2.76 in D 1.19 in
Vintage Bavarian Traditional Costume Jewelry Charivari with Hunting Pendants
Located in Berghuelen, DE
Vintage Bavarian Traditional Costume Jewelry Charivari with Hunting Pendants Item e7409 A Bavarian Charivari from the middle of the 20th century. A beautiful piece of historical Bava...
Metal, Silver
$19,500
H 27 in W 22 in D 1 in
Early 20th Century Eastern European Paper Cut Ketubah, Jewish Marriage Contract
Located in New York, NY
An Eastern European Kethubah Strikingly Decorated in Papercut Form, and with the Central Traditional Hebrew Text of a Most Uncommon Petite Appearance. Uni...
Paper
Austrian Antler Brooch with English Gold Medal
Located in Kitzbühel, Tirol
Handmade brooch in the form of an antler in silver gilded. In the middle a Victorian gold medal dated 1895. Austrian hallmark and silver hallmark.
Gold, Silver
Art Deco Austrian Pair of Cufflinks in Mother-of-Pearl
Located in Kitzbühel, Tirol
Charming pair of mother-of-pearl cufflinks in 800 silver. The cufflinks have a left and right hand portrait of a Lady in dark brown mother-of-pearl in Art Deco design. Handmade in Au...
Silver
Late 19th Century Algerian Brass Hanukkah Lamp
Located in New York, NY
Antique Hanukkah lamp, cast brass, rivets, Algeria, circa 1880. Crescent-shaped back plate, with eight gates, a vase with flowers, apertures in veget...
Brass
Hand Made Folk Art Sterling Necklace and Earrings
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Modern and Architectural Sterling Necklace and Earrings - hand-made and trending, this piece, along with their earrings have the effortless and artistic flavor of Architect, Frank Ge...
Sterling Silver
Vintage Christmas Holiday Musketeer Doll, circa 1940s-1950s
Located in San Francisco, CA
Vintage Christmas Holiday Musketeer Doll, circa 1940s-1950s Hand painted. Handmade clothing. Very nice vintage doll. Unsure if it's wood or papier...
Machiche
19th Century Needlepoint Tallit Bag, Jerualem
Located in New York, NY
An Intricate Jerusalem Textile, made in Jerusalem, 1886. Double-sided large pouch. Wool thread embroidered on cotton net. One side has a lion and stag holding flags reading “Jerusalem” in Hebrew, which flank a crowned Ten Commandments. Titled in Hebrew “Swift as a deer, strong as a lion” (Ethics of the Fathers 5:20). “Jerusalem” is seen in large lettering, atop a pair of birds and flowers. Top scene of the reverse side is titled “Mount of Olives”, amongst a plethora of olive trees, and a cluster of buildings is titled “Chulda the Prophetess”, (where her and others tombs reside). Main scene is titled “The Western Wall”, which features the wall and outer structures with turrets and Cyprus trees. The Hebrew date of “1886” is revealed on the bottom corners. This delicate textile, incredibly vibrant in color after 130 years of being created, is a masterful, exceedingly rare work of art produced in Jerusalem by an unknown woman --- likely quite young, a teenager --- as a gift to an unknown individual. Too complex to be a “tourist trinket”, as we know of one other similarly-made textile that is in the collection of the Israel Museum, and is dated 1876: see the book “Jewish Folk Art: From Biblical Days to Modern Times”, page 122. A clue to where perhaps this was made is in the depiction of the lion and stag holding flags, as they are identical to those featured on the crest of Moses Montefiore. In the 19th century, Montefiore gave enormous sums of money to purchase land for Jewish settlements and establish schools in Palestine. This textile most likely hailed from a school for girls funded by Montefiore, and was made as either a gift for Montefiore himself, or another wealthy donor. As to the actual purpose of this textile, since it is in the form of a large pouch, its intended purpose might have been to hold a tallit (prayer...
Textile
$316
H 1 in W 2.63 in D 1.75 in
Antique Hardwood Vesta Case with fine Shell Patera Inlay, late 19th Century
Located in Lincoln, Lincolnshire
This is a very good quality antique Vesta case, all handmade from various hardwoods and having well detailed shell inlay, dating to the 19th Century, Circa 1880. The case is all han...
Hardwood
18th Century Wooden Torah Pointer from Alsace
Located in New York, NY
Rare Alsace carved wooden Torah Pointer (YAD), 18th century. The body of the pointer is engraved in its first part with a decoration of palmettes and stripes. It then continues with...
Walnut