Christian Dior, Circa 1958, Attributed to Yves Saint Laurent
View Similar Items
Christian Dior, Circa 1958, Attributed to Yves Saint Laurent
About the Item
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 36-38 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Excellent.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: U090612486
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.
- Ceil Chapman Black and Blue Silk Cocktail Dress, Circa 1960By Ceil ChapmanLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a vintage black silk cocktail dress with blue flowers by Ceil Chapman, from 1960. The dress has long 22" sleeves, 23" zipper in the back, a collar, and a blue bow at the cent...Category
1960s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1950's MINGOLINI GUGGENHEIM Purple & Black Floral Print Silk Dress Set size 2-4Located in Los Angeles, CAThis is a vintage silk purple and black floral print dress with matching coat by Mingolini Gugenheim. It is a strapless bustier dress with a 17" si...Category
1950s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- GALANOS Black Silk Gown with Structured Shoulder and Blouson Sleeve, 1990'sBy GalanosLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a long sleeve black silk crepe gown by Galanos, from the 1990's and labeled from I. Magnin. The gown has long, puffy sleeves, shoulder pads, and zips up the back. There is ...Category
1960s Evening Gowns
- Yves Saint Laurent Purple Iridescent Silk Taffeta Gown, Circa 1970'sBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a beautiful piece of art by Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, from mid-1970. The gown is iridescent purple silk taffeta with ruffles on the front bodice, neckline, hem, cuffs, ...Category
1970s French Evening Gowns
- Christian Dior Haute Couture Pleated Chiffon Gown, Betsy Bloomingdale 1974By Marc BohanLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a long black chiffon pleated gown by Christian Dior Haute Couture, from 1974. The gown has ruffles at the neckline, hem, and sleeve. It is sheer with a black satin bow tie at the waist. Provenance: Betsy BloomingdaleCategory
1970s French Evening Gowns
- Geoffrey Beene Black Silk and Lace Cocktail Dress with Sash Belt Circa 1990By Geoffrey BeeneLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis is a gorgeous black silk cocktail dress by Geoffrey Beene, from 1990. It has white lace detail on the sleeve and the hem line, an elastic waist, and a 16" length sleeve. The bel...Category
1990s American 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 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 - 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 - 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.