Christian Dior Metallic Nubuck Tote Bag
View Similar Items
Christian Dior Metallic Nubuck Tote Bag
About the Item
- Designer:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:London, GB
- Reference Number:Seller: CHR3028131stDibs: LU736319011922
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.
- Hermès Birkin 30cm Noir Veau Togo GHWBy HermèsLocated in London, GBAn amazing Hermès 30cm Birkin bag. The exterior of this Birkin is in Noir Veau Togo leather with tonal stitching. It features gold tone hardware with two straps and front toggle clos...Category
21st Century and Contemporary French Tote Bags
- John Galliano for Christian Dior Light Blue Logo Oblique Tote Bag with "2"By Christian Dior, John GallianoLocated in Hoffman Estates, ILChristian Dior light blue logo oblique tote bag designed by John Galliano with iconic number "2".Category
Early 2000s Tote Bags
- Louis Vuitton Saumur 43 CrossbodyBy Louis VuittonLocated in Bellevue, WAAuthenticity: 100% AUTHENTIC! A trendy and classy bag that will make you cool and elegant. No longer available in stores. Discontinued. Exterior: Minor stains on the leather parts, ...Category
1990s French Tote Bags
- Vintage 90s Chanel Suede with Fur Trim Handbag Top Handle Satchel Flap Bag PurseBy ChanelLocated in Malibu, CA🖤Soooooo Dreamy🖤 Chic and Classic CHANEL black shearling tote Black shearling trims the unbelievably soft black suede. Perfect size bag fits all the essentials and then some! Perfect for those cold winter days when you want to be warm and chic! Such a pretty and feminine vintage...Category
1990s Tote Bags
- Hermès Limited Edition Birkin 25 Shadow Brand NewBy HermèsLocated in Hong Kong, HKStamp Z Brand New Full Set. This item is final sale and not eligible for return.Category
2010s French Tote Bags
- Hermès Birkin 30 Himalayas in Excellent ConditionBy HermèsLocated in Hong Kong, HKStamp Y Excellent Condition This item is final sale and not eligible for return.Category
2010s French Top Handle Bags
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.