1960's Christian Dior London Black Velvet Cocktail Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Length: 39 in (99.06 cm)Bust: 36 in (91.44 cm)Waist: 26 in (66.04 cm)Hip: 38 in (96.52 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use. Altered (not by designer).
- Seller Location:Toronto, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU22821035362
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: Toronto, Canada
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 1 day of delivery.
- 1960s Anonymous Black Long Sleeve Gown with Polka Dot Net Overlay and Gold SashLocated in Toronto, OntarioGorgeous black long sleeve gown from the 1960s. The label is from Stanley Korshak, a famous upscale ladies boutique in Dallas whose heigh day was from ...Category
1960s American Evening Gowns
- 1980s Black Velvet Vicky Tiel Cocktail Dress with Royal Blue BodiceBy Vicky TielLocated in Toronto, OntarioWELCOME BACK 1980's! Black velvet Vicky Tiel cocktail dress with a sexy sweetheart style neckline, a favourite look for Vicky Tiel, and a ruched royal blue velvet front bodice with s...Category
1980s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1970s Courreges Black Chiffon and Wool GownBy CourrègesLocated in Toronto, OntarioBeautiful 1970s gown by Courreges. Sheer black chiffon yoke and cap sleeves with a black satin ruffle across neckline and hem of sleeves. Tie at neckline creating a small keyhole. Th...Category
1970s French Evening Gowns
- 1950's Saks Fifth Avenue Black Lace Cocktail Dress with Turquoise RibbonBy Saks Fifth AvenueLocated in Toronto, Ontario1950's black lace cocktail dress from the Saks Fifth Avenue label. The empire waistline is accentuated with an attached turquoise corded silk sash finished wit...Category
1950s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1980s Victor Costa Black Tiered Chiffon Strapless Cocktail DressBy Victor CostaLocated in Toronto, OntarioStunning 1980s Victor Costa black strapless cocktail dress. Tiers of folded chiffon with a silver reflect throughout that catches the light beautifu...Category
1980s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1960s Black Strapless Cocktail Dress with Lace and Floral Applique SkirtLocated in Toronto, Ontario1960s black cocktail dress. Strapless and empire waist with a beautifully folded and ruched bodice. Straight, tea length skirt has a black lace overlay with large floral appliques ma...Category
1960s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
- Mariano Fortuny Black Silk Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with matte frosted colored glass beads threaded through the cordin...Category
Early 20th Century Italian Art Deco Peplos
- Mariano Fortuny Black Peplos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams,shoulders and tunic hem with multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Mariano Fortuny Black Delphos GownBy FortunyLocated in Riverdale, NYThis dress is made of finely pleated black colored silk with silk cording along side seams, and multicolored glass beads threaded through the cording.
Named after a ...CategoryEarly 20th Century Italian Art Deco Delphos Gowns
- Gianni Versace 1997 Couture fall black leather gownBy Gianni Versace, Gianni Versace CoutureLocated in CAPELLE AAN DEN IJSSEL, ZHGianni Versace was an influential Italian fashion designer who founded the Versace brand. In the fall of 1997, he presented his couture collection in Paris, which was widely acclaimed for its opulent fabrics, bold prints, and intricate detailing. The collection featured several notable pieces, such as a black evening gown with a plunging neckline and a gold-encrusted jacket. However, just a few days later, on July 15th, 1997, Gianni was tragically murdered outside his Miami Beach home. Despite his untimely death, his contributions to the world of fashion continue to be celebrated, and his legacy remains an inspiration too many. This collection is iconic as it’s the final collection before his passing. The collection very much showed a new direction for the house. Which was heading away from the bombshell curves and souped-up sex appeal that the house previously focussed on. But took more Inspirations to the new wave John Galliano and Mcqueen were leading. MET Gala: Salma Hayek y sus mejores momentos en la alfombra roja Vogue For the 1997 Met Gala Salma Hayek wore a very similar Gianni Versace look...Category
1990s Italian Evening Dresses and Gowns
- 1980s Dimitri Kritsas long black dressLocated in Milano, IT1980s Dimitri Kritsas long black dress with wide shawl neckline and low cut back. Rounded high slit in front with fitted long sleeves. Evening dress Size: M Waist: 88 cm Length: 14...Category
1980s American Evening Dresses
- Yves Saint Laurent by Tom Ford FW-02 Silk Flared Hem Dress - Velvet RibbonBy Tom Ford for Yves Saint Laurent, Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in Brussels, BEFlirtation and eroticism were on American designer Tom Ford’s mind for his Fall/Winter 2002 Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche collection. Using stereotypical women’s fabrics for appropr...Category
Early 2000s French Sheath 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.