Christian Dior Haute Couture Long Blue Gown Provenance Betsy Bloomingdale 1988
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 61 in (154.94 cm)Marked Size: 4 (US)Bust: 32 in (81.28 cm)Waist: 27 in (68.58 cm)Hip: 34 in (86.36 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Excellent, worn one time. Size equivalent to standard couture 4.
- Seller Location:Los Angeles, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU09091948222
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Los Angeles, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- ELIZABETH MASON COUTURE 'LIZETTE' Black Silk Chiffon GownBy Elizabeth Mason CoutureLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Elizabeth Mason Couture gown is composed of a sweeping black silk chiffon. This striking gown is composed of approximately 50 yards of silk chiffon...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Evening Gowns
- ELIZABETH MASON COUTURE 'MARIA' Black Stretch Lace Cocktail Dress Made to OrderBy Elizabeth Mason CoutureLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Elizabeth Mason Couture cocktail dress is composed of a stretch brocade. This fabric is one of a kind, and can be made to order in a variety of fabrics. This halter unique halte...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Dresses
- JEAN PAUL GAULTIER Vintage Beaded Full Length Silk Skirt Size 40By Jean Paul GaultierLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis vintage Jean Paul Gaultier skirt is composed of silk with heavy beaded applique. There is a zipper closure. In excellent vintage condition. **Please cross-reference measurement...Category
20th Century Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- MONIQUE LHUILLER Black Silk Bias Cut Dress Size 12Located in Los Angeles, CAThis Monique Lhuiller dress is composed of a black silk with a silk chiffon accent. There is a zipper closure. In excellent condition. **Plea...Category
20th Century French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- ELIZABETH MASON COUTURE Silk Criss Cross Cocktail Dress Made to MeasureBy Elizabeth Mason CoutureLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Elizabeth Mason Couture cocktail dress is fashioned from the finest black silk dupioni and features gorgeous body skimming silhouette with a stunning peek-a-boo criss-cross deta...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Cocktail Dresses
- ELIZABETH MASON COUTURE Made to Order Silk "Rose" Wrap Feathers RhinestonesBy Elizabeth Mason CoutureLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Elizabeth Mason Couture "Rose Wrap" is fashioned from the finest silk and is created at Elizabeth Mason's Beverly Hills Atelier. This wrap is available in a variety of fine si...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Evening Gowns
- Moschino Spring 2004 dressBy MoschinoLocated in Brooklyn, NYSuper cute Moschino black lingerie Spring 2004 dress with lace and hooks on bodice, and ruffles at the bottom as seen on the runway in a pink version. The d...Category
Early 2000s Evening Dresses and 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
- 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
- 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
- DOLCE&GABBANA Black and Beige Silk Dress with Adjustable Straps | Size 8US 40EUBy Dolce & Gabbana, D&G by DOLCE & GABBANALocated in Cuggiono, MIThis babydoll dress is made of a black silk chiffon fabric and it is fully lined with a silk beige crepe de chine. It features a full circle skirt, a pair of adjustable straps and a ...Category
2010s Italian Babydoll Dresses
- Herve Leger "Belina" Black Asymmetric Fringe Eyelet Strapless Bandage Dress NWTBy Herve Leger by Max Azria, Herve LégerLocated in Chicago, ILHerve Leger "Belina" black asymmetric fringe metal eyelet strapless bandage mini dress. New with tags (MSRP: $1,990). Tight, sturdy and durable construction, built to showcase your c...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Chinese Cocktail 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.