1940's Black Satin Gown with Pink Beaded Jacket
View Similar Items
1940's Black Satin Gown with Pink Beaded Jacket
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Altered (not by designer).
- Seller Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU22821191612
Elsa Schiaparelli
From her signature color Shocking Pink to her collaborations with Surrealist artists, the boldly original Elsa Schiaparelli transformed fashion from the late 1920s to the early ’50s. Experimenting with elements like trompe l’oeil images and colorful visible zippers, the Italian designer instilled a provocative avant-garde artistry in her clothing and accessories, including those created with Salvador Dalí, such as the lobster dress and a hat shaped like a shoe.
Born in Rome, Schiaparelli was a rebellious child who grew up among the city’s intellectual elite. She had a voracious appetite for reading and became interested in ancient cultures, astronomy and world religions. Schiaparelli studied philosophy at the University of Rome, and after publishing a collection of poems on love and sensuality that so mortified her conservative parents that they tried, unsuccessfully, to confine her to a Swiss convent, she left for London. A quick marriage to Count Wilhelm de Wendt de Kerlor brought her to New York, but it would be in Paris following her divorce that Schiaparelli embraced her artistic passions. She moved to the French capital city in 1922 with her young daughter and happened to meet master couturier Paul Poiret, who loaned the stylish Schiaparelli his clothes, sparking her own fashion interests.
Schiaparelli debuted her first collection of knitwear in 1927, and later that year, she designed a black-and-white pullover hand-knit wool sweater featuring a trompe l’oeil bowknot that captured the attention of the fashion world. Vogue called it “an artistic masterpiece.” The success led to her moving her house to 21 Place Vendôme in 1935 where thousands of garments were produced each year. Schiaparelli’s knitwear collections were later accompanied by revolutionary swimsuits and other clothing and accessories. Her inventive designs would include culottes — a radical statement in the 1930s when women still could cause a scandal by wearing pants — as well as printed fabric, such as the 1938 Tears dress with a print designed by Dalí making it appear as if the evening gown had been savagely ripped.
Schiaparelli was among the first designers to use materials like rayon and Lurex as well as explore wrap dresses and transparent raincoats. She also introduced unisex fragrances and brought her artistic partnerships into jewelry, such as bronze brooches made with Alberto Giacometti and fur-lined bracelets with Méret Oppenheim. As she wrote in her 1954 autobiography Shocking Life, women should “dare to be different.”
Despite her acclaim, her shop closed in 1954 after a tumultuous time during World War II. By then, fashion had moved on with Christian Dior's New Look, and the closure of Schiaparelli's business coincided with a comeback mounted by Coco Chanel, her archrival in the early days.
In 2006, Italian businessman Diego Della Valle acquired the brand and its archives, and the Maison Schiaparelli was reopened in 2012, back at 21 Place Vendôme where Schiaparelli's fearless and enduring work began.
Find vintage Elsa Schiaparelli hats, evening dresses and other clothing and accessories on 1stDibs.
- 1960's Mollie Parnis Black Velvet Dress w BowBy Mollie ParnisLocated in Toronto, OntarioEarly 1960's Mollie Parnis black velvet empire waist dress inspired by the Dior look dresses from the 60's. Scoop neckline, 3/4 sleeve, black satin wide ribbon sash with raw edged fr...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1960s Black Lace Cocktail Dress with BowLocated in Toronto, OntarioBlack 1960s lace drop waist cocktail dress with the label Anita Modes. The sleeveless dress has a full black lace overlay with an added hem detail. Large bl...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1980's Pauline Trigère Brown Chiffon Halter Gown and ScarfBy Pauline TrigèreLocated in Toronto, OntarioStunning chocolate brown silk chiffon Pauline Trigère halter gown with matching chiffon overlay. Previously owned by a well know American celebrity performer who favoured Trigère, Ch...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses
- 1950s Helen Rose Black DressBy Helen RoseLocated in Toronto, OntarioBeautifully constructed, this simple silk Helen Rose from the 1950's is the most classic LBD. The U neckline is balanced by the elbow length sleeves and seams down the sides of the b...Category
1950s American Day Dresses
- 1990s Valentino Black Chiffon and Velvet Dress Shirt DressBy ValentinoLocated in Toronto, OntarioAmazing 1990s Valentino little black shirt dress from Holt Renfrew Canada. Top is black chiffon with a pussy bow tie, sheer bishop sleeves and delicate ruching at shoulders. Jet blac...Category
1990s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- 1980's Gianni Versace Black & Yellow Linen DressBy VersaceLocated in Toronto, OntarioGianni Versace circa mid 80's shaped black linen dress with vibrant yellow insert detail on capped sleeve. In crisp like new condition. Fitted through the waist, sleek shoulder lines...Category
1980s Italian Mini Dresses
- 1990s Louis Feraud Black Cerimony Floral Velvet Vintage Long DressBy Louis FeraudLocated in Brindisi, BtLouis Feraud vintage women dress. Black color, 100% polyester. Long model, floral applications in velvet, adjustable waist belt, collar with flou...Category
1990s German Evening Dresses
- Gianni Versace F/W 1993 Runway Couture Sheer Knit Mesh Lace Evening Dress GownBy Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in Naples, FLGianni Versace F/W 1993 Runway Couture Sheer Knit Mesh Lace Bustier Black Evening Dress Gown IT 44 Excellent Condition!Category
1990s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- F/2012 look # 6 NEW VERSACE MACRAME GOTHIC CROSS COCKTAIL SILK DRESS 38 - 2By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Actual Runway Samole Fall/Winter 2012 Look # 6 Macrame Gothic Cross Cocktail Dress This long sleeve, turtle neck cocktail dress features an allover macrame Gothic cross...Category
2010s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- The little black dress by Chanel black and white silk Sculpted figureLocated in Bilbao, ESAbsence of vulgarity was central to Chanel’s definition of luxury, a view formed during her impoverished early life. Born in 1883 in Saumur, France, as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, she was just 12 years old when her mother died and her itinerant father put her in a home for orphaned girls run by a local convent. She learned to sew and, upon moving to Moulins six years later, became a seamstress. She also sang in nightclubs, earning the sobriquet “Coco,” an allusion to a popular song of the time. Beautiful, one of a kind vintage silk dress and jacket for everyday ware as a coktail dress...Category
1990s Aesthetic Evening Dresses
$2,718 Sale Price32% Off - 2005 Comme Des Garcons Little Black DressBy Comme des Garçons, Tao KuriharaLocated in Scottsdale, AZTao for Comme Des Garcons, circa: 2005, The structure of these minimal, little black dress by the Japanese vintage fashion label, Comme Des Ga...Category
20th Century Japanese Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Linz Line Black Cocktail /Dinner DressLocated in London, GBA chic vintage cocktail/ dinner dress by Linz Line. The dress has a scalloped off the shoulder neckline and is fully lined. There is gatherin...Category
1950s Unknown Evening Dresses and Gowns
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
You Saw It at the Met Ball. Here’s What Camp Fashion Is Really About
This year's Costume Institute exhibition is all about embracing the eccentric.
The Met’s Latest Blockbuster Tells a Powerful Story through 230 Jewels
A captivating show at the Manhattan museum explores how jewelry has ornamented the body through the millennia — and redefines it as high art.