1950s Couture Lace Pierre Balmain

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1950s Couture Lace Pierre Balmain

Name: 1950s Couture Lace Pierre Balmain
Brand: Pierre Balmain
Rating: 4.9 (31 reviews)

About the Item

It is an honor to have this dress pass through my hands! Early Pierre Balmain pieces are very very hard to find and to find one of this beauty and condition is simply extraordinary! I have dated this as the 1950s based on the zipper position but it is possibly very late 40s - Balmain opened hi house in 1945 after all. It's the little black dress done in the most couture kind of way! A fitted, thick luxurious silk satin under dress is boned and seamed to perfection with all the details you look for - extra seaming to for the bust, an inner grosgrain ribbon at the waist to fit the dress perfectly - the cutting techniques used ensure anyone wearing this the perfect hourglass figure. The exterior is done in Gros Point de Venise lace:

Buttonhole stitches formed every part of this firm, heavy needlepoint guipure lace. Thick cordonnets outlining the heavy scrolling flowers were completely covered with buttonholing. Because one side of this stitch was bulkier than the other, closely worked cordonnets tended to curve; thus scallops, circles and sweeping curves developed naturally. Buttonhole-covered brides connected the motifs, and a variety of fancy stitches were used as design fillings. Magnificently sculpted three- dimensional Gros Point styles developed in 17th century Italy (1650-1670)

The back is cut low and a bow sits at the small of the back and two wide strips of the same silk satin tril to the hem. It is chic, classic, couture level, rare, beautiful and in mint condition. New Balmain pieces fetch several times the selling price of this piece and I believe that this piece could stand aboive any current ones! Balmain sought elegance without lavishness in his couture and that is superbly demonstrated in this piece.

Bust: 17" flat across the back from side seam to side seam
Waist: 13" from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19" from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 12" from shoulder to waist seam
Skirt length: 33" from waist seam to bottom hem

The dress has an attached inner silk satin dress and closes with a back painted metal zipper on the skirt. It should be dry cleaned when cleaned again in the future.

Any of our garments can be purchased directly from the Shrimpton Couture website. Layaway is available, we have a full return policy and items are shipped boxed and freshly cleaned!

Designer:
Pierre Balmain
Dimensions:
Marked Size: SML (US)
Period:
1950-1959
Condition:
Excellent.
Seller Location:
Rockwood, CA
Reference Number:
Seller: DD3921stDibs: AU110131128210

Shop All Pierre Balmain

Pierre Balmain

Pierre Balmain founded his now-iconic label in 1945. Alongside fellow couture titans Christian Dior and Hubert de Givenchy, the French designer's postwar take on luxe dressing featured bell-shaped skirts falling from slender waists, structured jackets over sheath day dresses and embellishments like fur trim; he called the look “Jolie Madame.” The Duchess of Windsor was an early fan, prompting an aristocratic following.

From the voluminous skirts of the post-World War II “New Look” favored by Hollywood icons like Audrey Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich to the sleek, skinny jeans seen on Nicki Minaj, Kid Cudi and every Kardashian, clothes from the House of Balmain have long been mainstays in celebrity wardrobes.

The son of a dressmaker and a drapery salesman, Balmain's founder was born in 1914 in southeastern France and formed an interest in fashion at an early age. His mother wanted her son to be an architect — but the principles of design and structure that Pierre learned in his brief studies at the École des Beaux Arts served him well throughout his career.

Balmain was among the first to offer French looks to the American market. Since the death of the founder in 1982, the design reins at the company have been handed to luminaries such as Oscar de la Renta and Olivier Rousteing, an alum of Roberto Cavalli who was installed as creative director at the label in 2011.

Today’s Balmain has more in common with the master’s original haute couture than you might expect: sharply tailored blazers that nip in at the waist, delicate stilettos and ultra-feminine evening dresses are wardrobe basics for the 21st-century woman, too. Lovers of couture history will also prize the fluid, easy sketches from the master’s own hand they’ll find on offer here, while fashionistas clamor for the brand’s t-shirts, military-style jackets and skinny jeans.

Whether you’re a colonel in Rousteing’s “glamour army” or you fancy yourself a “Jolie Madame,” a Balmain piece — from the 1960s or even last season — will add a bold, sexy note to your look. Daytime or night, Balmain feels right now.

Find vintage Pierre Balmain dresses, skirts, scarves and other garments and accessories on 1stDibs.