Evening Dress
ca. 1952 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This cocktail or short evening dress, of black taffeta was probably designed by Christian Dior (1905-57); it has a Dior label, but the attachment of this to the garment does not appear to be original. It is a strapless sheath of horizontally gathered taffeta. There is a rear overskirt extended to form a drape or 'flying panel' from sides to waist. This gives the impression of movement and volume whilst also retaining a sleek and elegant line. The bodice is lined with crepe, padded and boned and fastens with a side metal zip.
Black was of enormous significance to Christian Dior. He described it as 'the most popular and the most convenient and the most elegant of all colours. And I say colour on purpose, because black may be sometimes just as striking as colour' (Christian Dior's Little Dictionary of Fashion, 1954). Black was rarely absent from his collections, and he used it frequently to create the defining statements for his famous lines.
Black was of enormous significance to Christian Dior. He described it as 'the most popular and the most convenient and the most elegant of all colours. And I say colour on purpose, because black may be sometimes just as striking as colour' (Christian Dior's Little Dictionary of Fashion, 1954). Black was rarely absent from his collections, and he used it frequently to create the defining statements for his famous lines.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Taffeta lined with crepe, gauged, padded and boned |
| Brief description | Evening dress of taffeta, probably designed by Christian Dior, Paris, ca. 1952 |
| Physical description | Short evening dress of black taffeta. It is strapless and designed as a sheath covered with horizontally gauged material. The gathered rear overskirt is extended to form a puffed drape from sides to waist. The bodice is lined with crepe, padded and boned and fastens with a side metal zip. The lining is separately zip fastened. |
| Production type | Haute couture |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Christian Dior Paris 03448' (Label - stitched inside the side seam; attachment does not appear to be original.) |
| Gallery label | [NB: This label was written in 1983-84 before the dress was reassessed.)
EVENING DRESS, silk poult
French, Paris, Christian Dior, about 1950
Dior handled evening black in an uncompromising manner. Here the strapless sheath under-dress is boldly ruched to a heavy silk foundation which is firmly boned and padded at the bodice. The skirt is slit to the waist up the centre back and held together by five horizontal strips of wide elastic which allowed the wearer mobility. The circular over-skirt is pleated into the waist seam at the sides and back but set in straight across the front. Here it is turned to form a peplum but falls to the skirt length at sides and back where happily it conceals the under-dress's open back seam. Ruching was generally popular through the late 1940s and 1950s and in this dress Dior exploits the technique to the full by setting its soft irregular ripples against the symmetrical smooth planes of the angular over-skirt.
Worn and given by Lady Joan Black
T.461-1976 |
| Credit line | Given by Lady Joan Black |
| Object history | Bought from and "Agent who bought Couture remainders at end of season and sold at reduced price". Worn and given by Lady Joan Black. There are elastic tapes at the back of the skirt which are an alteration to let it out. There are doubts as to the attribution of this dress (supported by Dr Alexandra Palmer of the Royal Ontario Museum), due to the crudely tacked in label. It has similarities to a Balenciaga model of a/w 1948 (See Vogue (British), November 1948, p.50). Stylistically too, it seems of the late 1940s/early 1950s. |
| Production | Artist and date attribution in question |
| Summary | This cocktail or short evening dress, of black taffeta was probably designed by Christian Dior (1905-57); it has a Dior label, but the attachment of this to the garment does not appear to be original. It is a strapless sheath of horizontally gathered taffeta. There is a rear overskirt extended to form a drape or 'flying panel' from sides to waist. This gives the impression of movement and volume whilst also retaining a sleek and elegant line. The bodice is lined with crepe, padded and boned and fastens with a side metal zip. Black was of enormous significance to Christian Dior. He described it as 'the most popular and the most convenient and the most elegant of all colours. And I say colour on purpose, because black may be sometimes just as striking as colour' (Christian Dior's Little Dictionary of Fashion, 1954). Black was rarely absent from his collections, and he used it frequently to create the defining statements for his famous lines. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Other number | 03448 - Dior Label number |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.461-1976 |
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| Record created | October 18, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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