1960's Marc Bohan for Dior New York Embroidered Cutwork Shift Dress
View Similar Items
1960's Marc Bohan for Dior New York Embroidered Cutwork Shift Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: M/L (US)
- Period:
- Condition:Truly looks unworn.
- Seller Location:Yucca Valley, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU407573142
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.
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 evening 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.
- Vintage 1930's Cartwright Ivory Striped Silk Rayon Cut-Out Maxi Dress & JacketLocated in Beverly Hills, CAThe vibrant rainbow-stripe used on this ivory silk rayon 1930's "Cartwright" designer dress ensemble has a whimsical allure that I find irresistible. The sleeveless bodice has a flir...Category
1930s American Aesthetic Day Dresses
- Vintage 1950's Anne Verdi Champagne Sequin Lace & Tulle Bustle Back Bridal DressLocated in Beverly Hills, CAEthereal 1950's Anne Verdi designer champagne lace hourglass cocktail dress from the Old Hollywood era of glamour! The fabric itself is a masterpiece; high-...Category
1950s American Wedding Dresses
- Chic 1960s Yellow + Orange + White Short Sleeve Belted Vintage 60s Mod Day DressLocated in San Diego, CAChic early 1960s yellow, orange, burnt orange and white geometric abstract belted short sleeve day dress! Flattering fit, with a detachable belt to form a waistline. Hidden metal zip...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
$595 Sale Price20% Off - Luca Luca Size 44 US 12 / 14 Embroidered Cotton + Linen Pastel Halter DressBy LUCA LUCALocated in San Diego, CAChic LUCA LUCA halter dress! Soft cotton and linen blend. Embroidered flowers and leaves printed throughout. Beautiful pastel colors in yellow, green, orange and brown throughout. Fu...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$636 Sale Price20% Off - 1960s Yellow + Pink + Green Flower Power Cotton Vintage 60s Scooter Dress TwiggyLocated in San Diego, CASuper chic vintage yellow, green, pink, purple and white daisy flower print cotton skooter dres! Features a nice tailored bodice with a pleated flat...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
$491 Sale Price25% Off - 1960s Oscar de la Renta Gold and Red Ribbon Silk Sequin Vintage 60s Gown DressBy Oscar De La RentaLocated in San Diego, CAIncredible, and super rare mid 60s one of a kind OSCAR DE LA RENTA gold and red sequin long sleeve gown! Features thousands of hand-sewn gold sequins thorughout. Embroidered red ribb...Category
1960s American Evening Gowns
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.