Chanel plaid tweed & patent leather ballet flats 37
View Similar Items
Chanel plaid tweed & patent leather ballet flats 37
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 37 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:West Palm Beach, FL
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU2841033182
Karl Lagerfeld
More than a mere tastemaker, Karl Lagerfeld devoted himself to the continual pursuit of chic. “My life and my job,” the designer once said, “is to forget myself.” During his five-decade career designing shoes, handbags, evening dresses and other items for Chanel, Fendi, Chloé and many others, Lagerfeld was a quintessential chameleon, ever evolving to embody the times.
An outsize, instantly recognizable personality — his ponytail powdered like an 18th-century viscount, his eyes perpetually shielded by dark glasses, wearing fistfuls of chunky silver jewels — Lagerfeld was, above all, an avatar of style.
Born in Hamburg (in 1933, ’35, or ’38 by varying accounts), Karl Lagerfeld packed his bags for Paris in 1954. His design for a coat won him the International Wool Secretariat and landed him a job with the celebrated couturier Pierre Balmain. He went on to become the designer of Jean Patou, eventually realizing that his seemingly endless ideas could fuel a career as a designer-for-hire. As such, Lagerfeld lent his vision to everyone from Loewe and Max Mara to Krizia and Charles Jourdan, nimbly moving among a diverse range of styles. It was an unprecedented way of working in the days when freelance was still a dirty word.
During the late ’60s and ’70s, he refashioned Chloé to reflect the free spirit of the day and, beginning in 1965, joined forces with the Fendi family, taking it from sleepy furrier to fashion’s haute-est stratum. Because of his track record for reviving and reimagining brands that had grown stagnant, in 1983 Lagerfeld was handed the reins at Chanel, which had been gathering dust since its founder’s heyday.
From Lagerfeld's first Chanel collection, he injected the venerable house with a frisson of modernity. He riffed on its iconography — tweed skirt suits, pearls, camellias — accenting a lexicon of Chanel-isms with tastes of the moment. Despite producing eight collections a year for Chanel, as well as four to five for Fendi, Lagerfeld never faltered in proposing new ideas each time he put pencil to paper.
Lagerfeld’s collections for Chanel, in particular, displayed his knack for synthesizing old and new, high and low. From Watteau (Spring/Summer 1985 couture) and Serge Roche (Spring/Summer 1990 ready-to-wear) to hip-hop fly girls (Fall/Winter 1991 ready-to-wear), surfers (Spring/Summer 2003 ready-to-wear) and ancient Egypt (Pre-Fall 2019), Lagerfeld used each season’s inspiration to conceive Chanel’s signatures anew.
Browse a collection of sophisticated designs by Karl Lagerfeld on 1stDibs, including handbags and evening gowns for Chanel, vintage cocktail dresses for Chloé and more.
Chanel
In the years following the opening of her modest millinery shop, Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel became a pivotal designer of both fashionable casual wear and Paris haute couture as well as an icon and arbiter of 20th-century style with her bob haircut and pearls. Today vintage Chanel handbags, jackets and evening dresses are among the most sought-after clothing and accessories for fashion lovers all over the world.
The first Chanel shop was established in 1910 in Paris on rue Cambon by the young milliner Gabrielle Chanel (1883–1971), who had picked up the nickname “Coco” while working as a club singer. The boutique drew the attention of the Parisian fashion elite who popularized her wide-brimmed Chanel Modes hats. Soon she added a sportswear store in the Normandy resort town of Deauville, where Coco set the tone for her defining sense of style — traditionally masculine garments reimagined for feminine shapes, made from simple jersey fabric.
Effortless and elegant, Chanel's designs promoted comfort and grace in women’s wear that had been dominated in the previous century by complicated layers of fabric and cumbersome corsets. She followed this success with a couture house, opened in 1915 in Biarritz.
But Chanel was not born into a life of glamour. Following the death of her mother, her father left her in an orphanage where she lived until the age of 18. It was there that she learned to sew as well as appreciate the classic pairing of black and white as worn by the nuns.
In 1926, Chanel introduced her first little black dress, reclaiming a color that had once been reserved for mourning and working-class women. That same decade, she debuted her perfume, Chanel No. 5, as well as the Chanel suit with a fitted skirt, inspired by the boxy lines of men’s clothing and employing a sporty tweed.
Chanel closed her fashion operations during World War II, then returned to the industry in 1954 to design for the functional needs of modern women.
Structure and wearability endured in all of Chanel’s clothing and accessories, like the quilted leather 2.55 handbag — a 1955 update of a 1920s-era design — with its gold-chain shoulder strap that freed up a woman’s hands. Her collarless jacket reacted against the constricting styles of Christian Dior's New Look, replacing them with a design that was timeless, an instant classic. The 1957 two-tone slingback pumps had a practical heel height while offering a bold statement in the black tip of the shoes.
After Coco Chanel died in 1971, the brand underwent several changes in leadership, including fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, who took over as artistic director in 1983. Over the years, the company has continued to innovate, such as expanding into ready-to-wear fashion in 1978 and, in 2002, establishing a subsidiary company — Paraffection — dedicated to preserving the heritage skills of fashion artisan workshops. The House of Chanel still operates its flagship on rue Cambon in Paris, where it all began.
Browse vintage Chanel bags, evening dresses, shoes, jewelry and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- Giorgio Armani Black Satin D'orsay High Heel Pump Passementerie Detail 36By Giorgio ArmaniLocated in West Palm Beach, FLGiorgio Armani black saitn d'orsay high heel pumps with passementerie detail at heel back, 36 M. 3 1/2 inch heels. These beautiful shoes have a narrow braid band trim at the front a...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian High Heels
$200 Sale Price24% Off - Alexandre Birman Snakeskin Laced Front Open Toe Sling Back High Heels 9BBy Alexandre BirmanLocated in West Palm Beach, FLAlexandre Birman, snake skin, laced front, open toe, sling back, high heels marked size 9B. Fabulous shoes in very good, barely worn condition. Leather laces close at the front, open...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Brazilian Shoes
- Etro Chunky Heel Printed Fabric Ankle Wrap Sandals 37 Unworn with BoxBy EtroLocated in West Palm Beach, FLEtro chunky fabric covered heel sandals with brightly printed crepe fabric straps and long ties to tie at the ankles. The foot bed is covered in fabric. Leather soles. Marked size 37...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Nando Mucci Grey Floral Lacy Leather Laser Cut Cowboy Boots 39Located in West Palm Beach, FLNando Mucci grey floral lacy leather laser cut cowboy boots 39. Cowboy boots with a romantic twist, pale grey laser cut leather boots with a scrolling lacey design. Pointed toes, und...Category
1990s Italian Shoes
- Moschino Redwall Swiss Appenzeller style belt with cows & hearts 1980sBy MoschinoLocated in West Palm Beach, FLMoschino Redwall Swiss Appenzeller style belt with cows & hearts 1980s...Black leather belt with gold, hearts & cows with a large shaped buckle...Marked size 42 Italy...The belt is 1...Category
1980s Italian Belts
- Rena Lange Black & Cream Fantasy Blooms Silk Twill Scarf 34" x 34"By Rena LangeLocated in West Palm Beach, FLRena Lange black & cream fantasy blooms silk silk twill scarf. Black & white borders with a center of spiky black flowers with shadowy cream & white back ground. In excellent conditi...Category
21st Century and Contemporary German Scarves
$145 Sale Price42% Off
- Alexander McQueen Black Velvet Embroidered Armadillo Curved Wedge Pumps Size 40By Alexander McQueenLocated in New York, NYAlexander McQueen Black Velvet Embroidered Armadillo Curved Wedge Pumps Size 40 Condition is new without original box.Category
2010s Italian Shoes
- Lanvin High Style New Sandals, 2011By Lanvin ParisLocated in Water Mill, NYSigned and Dated 2011 Lanvin High Style New Sandals in Original Box and Dust Bag..sizes are shown bellowCategory
20th Century Italian Shoes
- Valentino Suede and Fox BootBy ValentinoLocated in Water Mill, NYValentino Suede, Fox and Silk Ribbon Black 4.5" Heel BootsCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
- Salvatore Ferragamo Vintage Black Evening SandalsBy Salvatore FerragamoLocated in Water Mill, NYSalvatore Ferragamo Vintage Black Silk Evening Sandals size 9.5 R 4.5' healCategory
Late 20th Century Italian Shoes
- NEW GUCCI 1990 camel suede Platform PumpsBy GucciLocated in Genève, CH-Suede leather -Camel color -Block heels -125 mm heel -Sold with dustbag and box -New condition -Size 40 FRCategory
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
$342 Sale Price20% Off - 2000s Prada summer ankle boot in perforated leatherBy PradaLocated in Milano, IT2000s Prada summer ankle boot in perforated leather, open toe, heel in excellent condition MEASURES Size USA: 9 Size IT: 39 1/2 Heels: 12 CMCategory
Early 2000s Italian Shoes
$263 Sale Price20% Off
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
Remembering Fashion Designer, Collector and Supreme Tastemaker Karl Lagerfeld
The creative force behind brands like Chanel, Fendi and Chloé was as exacting in his interiors as he was in his clothing designs.
From the Runway to Rihanna, These Chanel Pearl Sunglasses Are the Peak of ’90s Chic
This cheeky accessory is seriously fun.