CHRISTIAN DIOR Size 10 Purple Open Back Embroidered Sash Dress
View Similar Items
CHRISTIAN DIOR Size 10 Purple Open Back Embroidered Sash Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 42 (EU)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Francisco, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: 92692 1stDibs: LU16225374361
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.
- MARCHESA Size M White Cream Floral Sheath DressBy MarchesaLocated in San Francisco, CAMARCHESA dress comes in a white & cream lace floral polyester with a slip liner featuring a sheath style and a back zip up closure. Very Good Pre-Owned ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Dresses and Gowns
- GIORGIO ARMANI Size 34 Navy Wool Blend Elastic Waistband Dress PantsBy Giorgio ArmaniLocated in San Francisco, CAGIORGIO ARMANI dress pants comes in a navy wool blend featuring a slim fit, elastic waistband, front tab, and a zip fly closure. Made in Italy. New with tags. Marked: 50 Measur...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- MARNI Size 2 Grey Silver Polyester Silk Marbled Short Sleeve DressBy MarniLocated in San Francisco, CAMARNI dress comes in a grey and silver polyester and silk woven material featuring pockets, and marbled print, and scoop neck. Made in Italy.Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- MARC JACOBS Size 0 Silver Grey Silk Sequined Shift DressBy Marc JacobsLocated in San Francisco, CAMARC JACOBS dress comes in a gray and black sequined silk featuring a shift style, sleeveless, and a back zip up closure. Made in USA. Excellent Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: 0 ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Dresses and Gowns
- CAROLINA HERRERA Size 10 Red Black Cotton Color Block Sheath DressBy Carolina HerreraLocated in San Francisco, CACAROLINA HERRERA dress comes in a red & black color block cotton featuring a sheath style, sleeveless, grosgrain trim, and a back zip up closure. Very Good Pre-Owned Condition. Mar...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Dresses and Gowns
- JIL SANDER Size 8 Black Back Cutouts V Neck Sleeveless Shift DressBy Jil SanderLocated in San Francisco, CAJIL SANDER shift dress comes in black crepe with a V neck, and back slit cutouts. Made in Italy. Excellent Pre-Owned Condition. Marked: IT 40 Measurements: l Shoulder: 15....Category
21st Century and Contemporary Day Dresses
- Leonard of Paris Pastel Silk Chiffon Day / Evening DressBy Leonard of ParisLocated in New York, NYPretty pastel silk chiffon Leonard of Paris special occasion day / evening dress. Bodice has a ruffled capelet that flows from the center of the dress...Category
Late 20th Century French Day Dresses
- Mariano Fortuny Sienna Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated sienna 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 Peplos
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Claret Delphos. Provenance Tina ChowBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated claret colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording. The beads are amber glass with...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon Request - Mariano Fortuny Rare Shell Pink Long Sleeved Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYDescription: This dress is made of finely pleated shell pink colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
Price Upon RequestVintage 1930's Gold Silk Lamé & Beadwork Gown UK 10 US 6Located in Cheltenham, GBThis truly magnificent 1930's gold silk lamé dress, embellished with trailing gunmetal grey and silver beadwork, is a phenomenal piece to add to your e...Category1930s Evening Gowns
Roberto Cavalli Leopard Print Sequin Dress F/W 2007 Size 38ITBy Roberto CavalliLocated in Saint Petersburg, FLRoberto Cavalli - This gold and brown leopard print sequin dress is reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe "curve appeal". The sexy, dress is made out of shimmery silk sequin fabric. The dre...CategoryEarly 2000s Italian Sac 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.