Early 1960s Floral Print Christian Dior New York Dress
View Similar Items
Early 1960s Floral Print Christian Dior New York Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Period:
- Condition:Note the color in person is a soft combination of a red-pink and a soft cherry red. It photoed as a little more of a coral color.
- Seller Location:Rockwood, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: Item# DD22531stDibs: LU128767282
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.
- Chanel champagne sequins dress F/W 2001 FR 40By ChanelLocated in Rubiera, RECHANEL dress F/W 2001 collection A-line dress in beige melange tweed and champagne sequins; on the front martingale belt with logo buttons; short sleeve; zip on the back. Size Fr 40...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Antique Edwardian 1910s Vintage Ivory Net Tulle Dress W Soutache Embroidery TrimLocated in Portland, ORThis is an incredible vintage dress from the 1910's!! The soutache detail is so well done and we especially love the pretty three layers of soft netting . The base layer is solid wit...Category
Early 20th Century American Day Dresses
- Moschino Cream Sand Lace Short Sleeve Mock T Neck Vintage Dress US Size 6By MoschinoLocated in Portland, ORThis is a lovely 1990's vintage Moschino Cheap and Chic floral lace dress that is lined in the body, with sheer cap sleeves. The edges are scalloped, and it closes with a zipper up t...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Roberto Cavalli Paisley Jacquard Knit Sleeveless Fitted Cocktail Dress Size 42By Roberto CavalliLocated in Paradise Island, BSThis Roberto Cavalli sleeveless cocktail dress features a vibrant orange and blue paisley print, a V-neckline, and a fitted silhouette with a trumpet hem. It is the perfect dress for...Category
2010s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
$717 Sale Price40% Off - Burberry Cotton Dress in BeigeBy BurberryLocated in Carnate, ITBurberry Cotton Dress in Beige Burberry dress. Missing composition label. We think it's cotton. Classic color of the English brand. Double-breasted closure, ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- Celine Phoebe Philo cream ribbed stretch body con knitted sweater midi dressBy CelineLocated in Paris, FRLOVE LALI VINTAGE Celine Phoebe Philo Resort 2017 A beautifully stretch fitted knit ribbed dress in cream as seen on Kim Kardashian Turned up hem Small slits to each cuff Midi lengt...Category
2010s Italian Informal 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.