1960s Christian Dior London Numbered Dress Suit
View Similar Items
1960s Christian Dior London Numbered Dress Suit
About the Item
- Designer:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Rockwood, CA
- Reference Number:Seller: Item# DD16961stDibs: AU1402241281955
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.
- Pierre Cardin Prestige Vintage Stunning Red Skirt SuitBy Pierre CardinLocated in Nice, FRPIERRE CARDIN Prestige intage red skirt suit. Blazer has stunning cut-out accordion sleeves, rigid collar turned up and button fastening. ...Category
20th Century French Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
- Resort 2012 L#6 NEW VERSACE FLORAL BLACK and WHITE SILK COTTON PANTS SUIT 38 - 2By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Actual PR-sample Resort 2012 Look # 6 Black and White Floral print pants suit Gold-tone hardware Asymmetrical details Content: Shirt: 100% cotton Pants:100 % s...Category
2010s Italian Trouser Pant Suits
$1,511 Sale Price35% Off - Sonia Rykiel Three Piece Tuxedo Style Black Pant Suit, 1980'sBy Sonia RykielLocated in Atlanta, GAA versatile 1980's Sonia Rykiel three piece suit in a black rayon/acetate blend crepe fabric, including jacket, top and pants. The chic details, including a satin finish to the coll...Category
1980s French Trouser Pant Suits
- Missoni Dress and Cardigan Soft Pastel Colours Versatile 4 to 6By MissoniLocated in Miami, FLGuaranteed authentic Missoni terrific dress with matching cardigan. Wearable design in pastel soft colours makes this dress timeless. Classic Missoni knit in beautiful hues of b...Category
2010s Italian Dress and Coat Ensembles
- Vintage Silk Coat and DressLocated in London, GBA chic vintage outfit in a petrol blue silk. The dress is sleaveless with a round neckline and central back zip. The cot has elbow length sleaves ...Category
1960s British Dress and Coat Ensembles
$435 Sale Price20% Off - Amazing Vintage 1970s 70s Jumpsuit In Neon Green + Pink + White w/ Flowers LaceLocated in San Diego, CAIncredible vintage 70s cotton jumpsuit! Neon green color, with pink and white flowers throughout. Bust is trimmed with adorable white eyelet lace. Wide leg bellbottom pants. Attached...Category
1970s American Jumpsuits
$360 Sale Price20% Off
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.