1960s Christian Dior Yellow, Orange and Red Floral Silk Maxi Dress
View Similar Items
1960s Christian Dior Yellow, Orange and Red Floral Silk Maxi Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 57.5 in (146.05 cm)Bust: 34 in (86.36 cm)Waist: 27 in (68.58 cm)Hip: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Houston, TX
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU10325743611
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.
- A Seaside Embroidered Cotton Dress in the style of Atelier Martine Circa 1920Located in Toulon, FRCirca 1915/1925 France Interesting sac dress for the seashore in embroidered cotton chiffon dating from the years 1915/1925. Straight cut with Kimono sleeves and low waist, belt in a black velvet ribbon, allowing the waist to be tightened. Light salmon cotton veil embroidered with stylized Art Deco bouquets of flowers, in the style of Raoul Dufy and Paul Poiret, evoking the embroidery work of Atelier Martine...Category
1910s French Chemise Dresses
- 1970'S Peach Silk Chiffon Crystal Beaded Straight Shift Cocktail DressLocated in New York, NYHand finished and lined in silky rayon, very minor bead loss. 1970'S Peach Silk Chiffon Crystal Beaded Straight Shift Cocktail DressCategory
1970s Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Apricot Pink Lace DressLocated in London, GBA pretty and easy to wear apricot/pink vintage lace dress . The dress has a round collar, front popper opening ,and elbow length sleaves. It ...Category
1960s Unknown Day Dresses
- Ralph Lauren Suede Tan Wrap Dress Size 6By Ralph LaurenLocated in Thousand Oaks, CAClassic - this Ralph Lauren wrap dress is timeless. Tan in coloring - reference to different photos for lighting in the exposed sun to indoor...Category
2010s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1960S CHESTER WEINBERG Champagne Metallic Rayon & Lurex Brocade Asymmetrical EvBy Chester WeinbergLocated in New York, NY1960S CHESTER WEINBERG Champagne Metallic Rayon & Lurex Brocade Asymmetrical Evening CoatCategory
1960s Casual Dresses
- Adele Simpson 1980s Size 4 Yellow White Silk Chiffon Polka Dot Vintage 80s DressBy Adele SimpsonLocated in San Diego, CAFlirty 1980s ADELE SIMPSON yellow and white silk chiffon polka dot dress ! Features a boned ruched bodice, with a slightly dropped waist. Multiple layers of chiffon on the skirt. Ful...Category
1980s Hong Kong 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.