1970's YVES SAINT LAURENT rive gauche purple silk floral dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 50 in (127 cm)Marked Size: FR 42 (fits very small) (EU)Bust: 34 in (86.36 cm)Hip: 40 in (101.6 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Discolorations to belt (at end and an ink spot- all photographed) and a couple of tiny, very faint light discolorations to dress. I prefer the dress with another belt! Priced accordingly.
- Seller Location:San Fransisco, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU8119192532
Yves Saint Laurent
French designer Yves Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture.
Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, Saint Laurent also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear.
By blurring gender-specific design, Saint Laurent empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.
Born to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately.
Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. He shook the traditional couture clientele to its core with youthful silhouettes and styles like the A-line trapeze dress that hung with seeming effortlessness from the shoulders, the antithesis of the pinched waists and molded skirts that had been all the rage after the deprivations of World War II.
After a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. Out of the ashes rose the Age of Yves. With Pierre Bergé, his then-lover who became his lifelong business partner and friend, the designer founded Yves Saint Laurent YSL to encompass prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris, followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand.
His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. It is a prime example of how Saint Laurent, an avid art lover and collector, looked to painters, from Goya to Picasso, Ingres to Matisse, for inspiration.
With its pure lines and hues, Mondrian’s ground-breaking 1935 color-block painting Composition C transmutes beautifully into a dress that is highly valued by collectors of contemporary fashion and widely copied commercially to this day. The design is the epitome of Saint Laurent’s aesthetic, requiring a meticulous hand-piecing of each color block so that, despite the body’s curves, the visual plane is as flat as a canvas when the garment is worn. Mondrian’s purity met its match in Saint Laurent.
“I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,” Saint Laurent said four years before retiring, in 2002. After a long period of ill health, he died at his home in Paris on June 1, 2008.
Browse an extraordinary collection of vintage Yves Saint Laurent evening dresses, shirts, handbags and other clothing and accessories today on 1stDibs.
Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche
Visionary French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent was the first to launch a ready-to-wear label, YSL Rive Gauche Prêt-à-Porter. The inaugural Rive Gauche boutique — a modern shop in Paris’s bustling, bohemian Left Bank district — offered stylish garments and accessories that were intended to be affordable for a younger generation of fashion enthusiasts. The store featured Mies van der Rohe chairs and played host to actor Catherine Deneuve during its grand opening.
Saint Laurent pioneered “cross-design” in fashion, taking inspiration from street trends to modernize haute couture. He was the first couturier to open boutiques for both men and women. Using traditional menswear fabrics and designs for women, he also literally cross-dressed, giving men and women alike chic pant suits, elegant tuxedo jackets and urban safari gear. By blurring gender-specific design, he empowered individual style while creating a scissor-sharp fashion aesthetic of sensual ease and beauty. Many of his designs are today considered timeless classics. Saint Laurent also consistently used Black models, like Mounia, Iman and Naomi Campbell, and he drew endless inspiration from different ethnicities and cultures, in no small part because of his Algerian roots.
Born to French parents in Oran, Algeria, in 1936, Saint Laurent went to Paris at age 17 to study fashion at the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Just two years later, in 1955, his remarkable sketches were shown to Christian Dior, then the world’s reigning couturier, who hired him immediately.
Surprisingly soon thereafter, Dior publicly chose Saint Laurent as his successor, which sadly proved prescient when the fashion legend died unexpectedly, in 1957. A mere slip of a youth, the 21-year-old Saint Laurent was nevertheless up to the challenge. He shook the traditional couture clientele to its core with youthful silhouettes and styles like the A-line trapeze dress that hung with seeming effortlessness from the shoulders, the antithesis of the pinched waists and molded skirts that had been all the rage after the deprivations of World War II.
After a mandated spell in the torturous French military, Saint Laurent suffered a nervous breakdown and was dismissed by Dior in 1962. Out of the ashes rose the Age of Yves. With Pierre Bergé, his then-lover who became his lifelong business partner and friend, the designer founded Yves Saint Laurent YSL to encompass prêt-à-porter, or ready-to-wear. In 1966, they opened the first YSL Rive Gauche women’s boutique in Paris — Rive Gauche is French for “left bank” — followed soon thereafter by YSL Rive Gauche for men. Ready-to-wear materialized during a period of dynamic transformation and experimentation and came to dominate the Paris fashion scene. Saint Laurent had given birth to a global brand.
His revolutionary Mondrian mini dress from 1965 is a core element of his fashion biography. It is a prime example of how Saint Laurent, an avid art lover and collector, looked to painters, from Goya to Picasso, Ingres to Matisse, for inspiration.
With its pure lines and hues, Mondrian’s ground-breaking 1935 color-block painting Composition C transmutes beautifully into a dress that is highly valued by collectors of contemporary fashion and widely copied commercially to this day. The design is the epitome of Saint Laurent’s aesthetic, requiring a meticulous hand piecing of each color block so that, despite the body’s curves, the visual plane is as flat as a canvas when the garment is worn. Mondrian’s purity met its match in Saint Laurent.
“I am no longer concerned with sensation and innovation, but with the perfection of my style,” Saint Laurent said four years before retiring, in 2002. After a long period of ill health, he died at his home in Paris on June 1, 2008.
The vintage YSL Rive Gauche clothing for sale on 1stDibs includes evening dresses and gowns, jackets, shoes, handbags and other items.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Oakland, CA
- Return PolicyThis item cannot be returned.
- 1970's TED LAPIDUS couture eyelet dress with tiered hemBy Ted Lapidus, Ted Lapidus Haute CoutureLocated in San Fransisco, CABlack eyelet lace dress with tiered hemline designed by Ted Lapidus dating to the 1970's. Best fits a US 2-4. Approximate measurements: bust 32" (+1" of give), waist 28.5", hips 36" ...Category
1970s French Day Dresses
- 1990's CHEAP AND CHIC by MOSCHINO black bustier minidressBy Moschino Cheap and Chic, MoschinoLocated in San Fransisco, CAJet black bustier mini dress from MOSCHINO CHEAP & CHIC dating to the 1990's. Narrow adjustable straps and bow at waistline. Labeled an Italian 42 however this dress best Fits an Ita...Category
1990s Italian Day Dresses
- 1990's ROMEO GIGLI brown velvet dress with asymmetrical hemlineBy Romeo GigliLocated in San Fransisco, CABrown velvet dress with v-neck and asymmetrical hemline from Romeo Gigli dating to the 1990's. Fits a size 6 or 8. Approximate measurements: shoulde...Category
Late 20th Century Italian Day Dresses
- 1980's AZZEDLINE ALAIA black velour dress with studsBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery rare, black velour dress with studs designed by Azzedine Alaia dating to the early 1980's. Labeled a French size 42 however this was not clipped on the size 2 mannequin. Approxi...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1984 AZZEDINE ALAIA black knit dress with wide elastic waistbandBy Azzedine AlaïaLocated in San Fransisco, CAVery rare, jet-black dress with elasticized waist and draped bodice from Azzedine Alaia dating to 1984. Labeled a size 'S'. Approximate measurements (unstretched): bust is open, wais...Category
1980s Italian Day Dresses
- 1970's ANDRE LAUG silk dress with gathered waistBy André LaugLocated in San Fransisco, CATextured taupe silk dress with flattering gathered center by Andre Laug dating to the early 1970's. Best fits a US 4 or 6 (interior waistband which can easily be removed measures app...Category
1970s Italian Day Dresses
- NEW ALEXANDER McQueen GREEN EVENING DRESS size 40 - 4By Alexander McQueenLocated in Montgomery, TXAlexander McQueen Emerald green glass beaded long dress Content: 100% silk Back zipper Sleeveless Back slit Size 40 - 4 (S) Length 63" Bust 35...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Karl Lagerfeld 1980s Size 44 / US 10 Navy Blue Silk Chiffon Vintage 80s DressBy Karl LagerfeldLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful late 80s KARL LAGERFELD navy + ivory silk chiffon sleeveless dress. Features a navy body with semi sheer ivory above the bust. Hidden zipper up the back with hook-and-eye c...Category
1980s French Cocktail Dresses
- S/S 1990 Vintage Yves Saint Laurent Magenta Pink Wool Shift DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Portland, ORThis is a vintage Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche magenta pink wool shift dress from the Spring / Summer 1990 collection. This dress has long sleeves and side slit pockets, with built...Category
1990s European Shift Dresses
- Lilli Diamond 1970s Sz 2 Abstract Leaf Print Red Halter Cotton Voile Maxi DressBy Lilli DiamondLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful 1970s LILLI DIAMOND cotton voile halter maxi dress gown ! The main color of this beauty is red. Abstract leaf prints throughout in vibrant hues of blue, orange and green. D...Category
1970s American Maxi Dress
- 1950s Black and Red Silk Brocade Flower Print Off Shoulder Vintage 50s DressLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful vintage late 50s demi couture silk brocade black and red off-the-shoulder cocktail dress ! Features lipstick red prints of flowers and orig...Category
1950s Cocktail Dresses
- 1970s Black Jersey Jeweled Rhinestone Belt Long Sleeve Vintage 70s Dress LBDLocated in San Diego, CAChic 1970s black jersey long sleeve slinky dress ! Features an attached belt with jewel and rhinestone encrusted buckle. Jewels are vibrant colors of turquoise blue, purple, green and amber orange...Category
1970s American Cocktail Dresses
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
How to Spot a Fake YSL Bag
Counterfeiters know that savvy fashionistas cherish YSL bags. Learn how to tell if yours is the real deal. Of course, you don't have to worry about that on 1stDibs, where every seller is highly vetted.
Quiet Luxury May Be Trending, but These Famous Interiors Prove That Quality and Quirk Endure
Because truly timeless design requires personal vision, transcendent taste, real fortitude and top-notch objects, even if the wider world hasn’t caught on yet.