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.
3-Piece Wool Felt Peasant-Inspired Ensemble w Mongolian Fur Trim
Located in Gresham, OR
3-Piece wool felt peasant-inspired ensemble: A-Line Black felt skirt is embellished with Mongolian lamb trim, felt and sequin applique flowers and gold ric...
Claude Montana Color Block Full Skirt, Pencil Skirt and Bodysuit Set
By Claude Montana
Located in Water Mill, NY
A fabulous silk/cotton blend set from Claude Montana in yellow and black. The 3 piece set consists of a yellow pencil skirt, a full black button front mi...
Junya Watanabe multicoloured wool tweed pant suit and hat, fw 2004
By Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons
Located in London, GB
▪ Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons multicoloured tweed ensemble ▪ 100% Wool ▪ Bias-cut figure hugging panels ▪ Purple high-neck bodysuit with pin-tucked waist panel ▪ Orange low r...
Wool Chevron Striped Metal Chain Vest Top Maxi Skirt 2-Piece Ensemble, 1970s
Located in Sparks, NV
Wear together or separately! Stunning vintage 1970s wool chevron striped vest top and maxi skirt ensemble with a metal chain detail. The skirt is fully lined with side metal zip and ...
Size: IT 42 - FR 38 - UK 10 - US 6
Gianni Versace black leather safety pin skirt and sweater ensemble, ss 1994
By Gianni Versace
Located in London, GB
▪ Gianni Versace runway ensemble ▪ Black leather pencil skirt ▪ Neon green knitted v-neck sweater ▪ Orange mesh cycling shorts with lace trim ▪ Larg...
Chanel Turquoise Floral Lace Top and Skirt Set Size 40
By Chanel
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Product details: Featuring turquoise short sleeves top and flare mini skirt with floral lace pattern. Both size 40. The top measurement: bust is33.5", waist is 33.5", length is 21...
Chanel Iconic Ivory Wool Boucle Zippered Skirt
By Chanel
Located in New York, NY
Chanel iconic ivory wool boucle zippered skirt is fully lined with their signature silk monogram. The center-back invisible zipper measures 8 1/2 i...
Norma Kamali Omo Adjustable Parachute Top and Skirt 1980s
By Norma Kamali
Located in Water Mill, NY
A fabulous khaki set from Norma Kamali's Omo collection consisting of V neck tank top and matching skirt. There are vertical lines of adjustable drawstrings with white cords around ...
Size: 4/ Small
1970s Courrege Pink A Line Maxi Cotton Skirt
By André Courrèges
Located in Beverly Hills, CA
Dead stock Vintage 1970s Andre Courreges Pink Maxi Cotton A line maxi Skirt. Snap button in the front. Skirt is styled with Roberto Cavalli Cardigan Jacket Top and Lina Lee...
NINA RICCI 2 Pc Gray Black Lace Silk Tweed Dress Jacket Pleated Skirt Suit Set
By Nina Ricci
Located in Thiensville, WI
NINA RICCI 2 Pc Gray Black Lace Silk Tweed Dress Jacket Pleated Skirt Suit Set Brand / Manufacturer: Nina Ricci Style: Jacket; pleated skirt Color(s): Shades of gray, black, tan, and white Lined: Yes- jacket Marked Fabric Content: “100% Silk” (shell); “100% Viscose” (lining) Additional Details / Inclusions: Gray speckled tweed short jacket skirt suit set. Tailored slightly cropped jacket with princess seams in front; princess seams in back. Tailored jacket with armhole princess side seams in front, armhole princess seams in back. Low scooping rounded neckline. Tailored two-piece long sleeves with pleated lantern style flared cuffs. Knife pleated lantern sleeve cuffs with layered raw edge black lace trim overlay; fringe trim at edges of cuffs. Structured square shoulder silhouette with light padding at interior shoulder seam. Pleated black lace trim at center front of jacket; raw edges at lace trim. Bias cut structured band at hem. Jacket lined with signature “Nina Ricci” label print lining. Center front placket button up closure with bias-cut placket piece; iridescent signature Nina Ricci statue logo-engraved button hardware. Gray speckled tweed pleated skirt with large bias-cut yoke at top front and back of skirt; topstitch detail around lower band of skirt yoke...
Andy Warhol and the fashion house’s first collections were among the creative director’s inspirations.
There's a renewed appreciation for the era's aesthetic, perhaps most notably among millennials seeking authentic, easy style.
