Christian Dior Late '50s Silk Brocade Cocktail Dress w/ Shoes
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: 6 (US)
- Style:Belle du Jour (In the Style Of)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Blouson waist, matching leather-lined belt, and shoes
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Gresham, OR
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU131202502157
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Gresham, OR
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- 1960s Amen Wardy Orange Knife-Pleated Goddess Gown with Jeweled Neckline & WaistBy Amen WardyLocated in Gresham, OR1960s Amen Wardy Orange Knife-Pleated Silk Crepe Goddess Gown with Jeweled Neckline & Waist: Empire waistline, back zipper, fully lined. Up to a US si...Category
1960s American Evening Gowns
- Dolce & Gabbana Floral Stretch Silk Sleeveless Sheath Cocktail DressBy Dolce & GabbanaLocated in Gresham, ORContemporary Dolce & Gabbana sleeveless stretch silk, floral-print, ruched cocktail sheath in mixed pastels on a white background. Ruching at back of midriff and hips for a great bod...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
- Gucci Fine Black Leather Strapless Cocktail Dress with SlitBy GucciLocated in Gresham, ORA never-been-worn 1990s Gucci leather strapless dress with diagonal ruching and back slit.Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- Contemporary Balmain Power Mesh Knit Zebra Patterned Mini DressBy Balmain Paris, BalmainLocated in Gresham, ORContemporary Balmain Power Mesh Knit Zebra Patterned Mini Dress: Zippered up back with high banded collar and long fitted sleeves. Body conscious silhouette in a bold classic black ...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- 1970s Pauline Trigere Fuchsia Silk Faille Evening Gown with Balloon SleevesBy Pauline TrigèreLocated in Gresham, ORA gorgeous 1970s Pauline Trigere fuchsia fine silk faille evening gown with deep "V" neckline, a Renaissance styled pointed waistline, full pleated skirt and large ballooned 3/4 leng...Category
1970s American Ball Gowns
- 1970s Norman Norell Navy Blue and Silver Lurex Crepe and Chiffon Evening GownBy Norman NorellLocated in Gresham, OR1970s Norman Norell Navy Blue and Silver Lurex Crepe and Chiffon Evening Gown: Banded collar, waist and cuffs. Silver Lurex stripes on bodice and puffed sleeves. Star dotted full len...Category
1970s American Evening Gowns
- 1960s Lemon Yellow Silk Chiffon Flyaway Evening Dress W Gold Trim & RhinestonesLocated in Portland, ORThis is a beautiful yellow silk chiffon empire waist evening gown from the 1960's with pretty gold metallic trim and prong set rhinestones. The dress has flyaway panels in the front ...Category
1960s American Empire Waist Dresses
- New Versace S/S 2013 Runway Cutout Lace Panels Mini DressBy VersaceLocated in Naples, FLNew Versace S/S 2013 Runway Cutout Lace Panels Mini Dress IT 38 Look 8 from the Spring 2013 Collection. Versace cutout dress features an allove...Category
2010s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage Silk Cocktail Dress and JacketLocated in London, GBA great silk cocktail dress and jacket in an interesting and unusual garlic print . The dress has 11 fabric covered buttons at the front and is tailored ...Category
1960s Unknown Evening Dresses and Gowns
- ALEXANDER'S c.1960's Deep Goldenrod Sequin Embellish Mod Sleeveless Shift DressLocated in Thiensville, WIVintage c.1960's Alexander's deep goldenrod knit shift dress. Sleeveless with round neckline. Abstract green sequined detail on front wrapping around lower back of dress. Black trim...Category
1960s Italian Shift Cocktail Dresses
- S/S13 L# 8 VERSACE ORANGE BLACK LACE HALF RACERBACK Dress 40 - 4 38 - 2, 40 - 4By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Collection Spring/Summer 2013 Look # 8 This bright Versace cocktail dress features an allover contrast black lace trim and a partial racerback strap with a spaghetti str...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
- PRADA orange silk ELEPHANT PRINT Sleeveless Cocktail Dress 44By PradaLocated in Zürich, CHPrada SS'17 elephants tent dress in orange, purple, pink, and white silk (100%). With pleats from the right shoulder, drawstring around the hemline and zipper slits on the sides that...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Unknown 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.