Little Black Dress! Ruched Christian Dior Cocktail Dress
View Similar Items
Little Black Dress! Ruched Christian Dior Cocktail Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: No tag, fits US 6-8 (US)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Switzerland, CH
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU41631318773
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.
- NEW Dolce & Gabbana Silk & Lace Bone Corset Dress, Coat & Brooch Ensemble 3PCSBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Switzerland, CHStunning 3PCS Ensemble by Dolce & Gabbana Can be worn as a suit or each piece by itselm Beautiful gold-metallic lace Overlayed with finest black silk Fully lined Corset dress with ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Dress and Coat Ensembles
- Gorgeous Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford YSL Black Lace DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Switzerland, CHLace dress designed by Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent FW 2002 Collection Rare piece Finest black guipure lace Lined on backside with black mesh tulle Seen on the AD campaign, on the runway and on Carine...Category
Early 2000s French Evening Dresses
- NEW John Galliano Black Crochet Knit Ruched DressBy John GallianoLocated in Switzerland, CHAn extremely luxurious JOHN GALLIANO piece that will last you for years Made of soft black knitted fabric Ruched details Fully lined with black soft fabric Dry clean onlyCategory
Early 2000s French Cocktail Dresses
$349 Sale Price50% Off - NEW Gucci by Tom Ford Spring 2003 Ruched Knitted Silk DressBy Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE STUNNING GREY DRAPED DRESS BY TOM FORD FOR HIS SS 2003 COLLECTION FOR GUCCI DETAILS: Stunning grey GUCCI dress Beautiful ruched detai...Category
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
$749 Sale Price55% Off - Gianni Versace Couture 1997 Lurex Cutout Gown Maxi Evening Dress Bandeau Top 42By Gianni VersaceLocated in Switzerland, CHTHE DRESS OF THAT SEASON - FEATURED IN VERSACE AD CAMPAIGN AND SHOWN ON THE RUNWAY FROM HIS FALL WINTER 1997 COLLECTION OWN A PIECE OF FASHION HISTORY - A TRUE GEM SO HARD TO FIND IN EXCELLENT CONDITION Gorgeous GIANNI VERSACE gown Head-turning design with cut-out detail and bra-top Beautiful black lurex fabric and silk The dress has an integraded demi-corset for a perfect fit Size 42 Designed in 1997 by Gianni Versace himself, it was on of the last items before his death The dress is as worn by top model Stella Tennant...Category
1990s Italian Evening Gowns
- UNWORN Gucci by Tom Ford FW 2004 Black Silk & Tassle Evening Gown Dress 40By Gucci, Tom Ford for GucciLocated in Switzerland, CHRARE COLLECTOR'S ITEM STUNNING PIECE BY TOM FORD FOR HIS FINAL COLLECTION IN FALL 2004 FOR GUCCI Seen on the runway show, in the AD campaign and in many editorials One of the key...Category
Early 2000s Italian 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
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 - Vintage Dolce & Gabbana black mini dress with crystal trim details S/S1995By Dolce & GabbanaLocated in London, GBVintage Dolce & Gabbana black mini dress with crystal details S/S1995. The dress is in good condition just light signs of use around the crystals. ▪ Black rayon chiffon with lining ▪...Category
1990s Italian Mini Dress
$1,204 Sale Price48% Off - Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche Black Cocktail DressBy Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Sharon, CTA beautiful YSL Rive Gauche Paris, France black cocktail dress, with a silk belt with a large flower bow. Shoulders are lightly padded. Zipper on side, button at neck opening in bac...Category
1980s French 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.