50's Christian Dior Boutique Taffeta Dress 03510
View Similar Items
50's Christian Dior Boutique Taffeta Dress 03510
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 44.1 in (112.02 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Altered (not by designer). The dress has been shortened and cut. Small scratches on the back belt (see picture 7). Two little holes and some wear on the tulle corset (see picture 8).
- Seller Location:Geneva, CH
- Reference Number:Seller: 1DJD01201stDibs: LU560257378
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. Vintage Dior bags, shoes, evening dresses, shirts and other garments and accessories are known today for their feminine and sophisticated sensibility.
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 couture 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.
- Ungaro Ruched Faux Ostrich Cocktail Mini DressBy Emanuel UngaroLocated in Geneva, CHThis 80's Ungaro Parallèle cocktail dress is cut from – probably – black silk ? (the composition materiel tag is missing) that's ruched and ruffled to create a flattering faux ostric...Category
1980s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Knit & Tulle Mini Dress, Fall-Winter 1988By Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Geneva, CHAnthony Vaccarello has dived into Saint Laurent's archives once more ! We can find a close inspiration of this original 80's dress in the current 2019 Fall-Winter collection (see pic...Category
1980s French Mini Dresses
- Christian Dior Numbered Demi Couture Little Black Cocktail DressBy Marc Bohan, Christian DiorLocated in Geneva, CHIs this 60’s Christian Dior the perfect “Little Black Dress” that every woman should have in her dressing ?! Constructed in a beautiful black “cloqué” silk, this textured cocktail dr...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Jean-Louis Scherrer Belted One-Shoulder Cocktail DressBy Jean-Louis ScherrerLocated in Geneva, CHThis sculptural Scherrer cocktail dress is made from refined satin silk. It has a one-shoulder silhouette that drapes and twists through the bodice. Labelled a French size 38 (US 4-6...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- Gianfranco Ferre Runway Embellished Dress, Spring-Summer 2005By Gianfranco FerréLocated in Geneva, CHMade from stretch jersey and snakeskin, this 00's Ferré dress (look n° 78 from the SS2005 collection) is embellished with beads. Labeled an Italian size 42...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Maggy Rouff Haute Couture Open-Back Sequin-Embellished Tulle Cocktail DressBy Maggy RouffLocated in Geneva, CHChanneling the timeless glamour, this late 50's - early 60's Maggy Rouff haute couture cocktail dress is infinitely flattering from every angle. Cut from black silk and tulle in a fi...Category
1960s French Cocktail Dresses
- Badgley Mischka Beaded Black Silk Lace Evening Gown Size US 10By Badgley MischkaLocated in New York, NYBadgley Mischka glamorous black silk lace evening gown, size US 10. Gown features hand beaded and embroidered lace with glass jet beading, and neckline with glass jet beads along cu...Category
Late 20th Century American Evening Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Black Silk Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with matte frosted colored glass beads threaded through the cordin...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Peplos
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Black Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Black Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
Named after a ...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon Request - Calvin Klein Black Lace Cocktail Dress, c. 1990s.By Calvin KleinLocated in New York, NYCalvin Klein Black Lace Cocktail Dress, c. 1990s. Calvin Klein Black Lace Cocktail Dress featuring low cut V-ncekline and shoulder pads. Beautiful Lace hem extends past chiffon linin...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Gown with Open Back, 1990.By Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in New York, NYYves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Gown with Open Back, 1990. Full length woven dress with waistband. Features slit at center front and open ...Category
1990s French Evening 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.