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La Ligne Sinueuse

Day Dress
1952 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This three-piece afternoon dress, designed by Christian Dior (1905-57), comprises a top, belt and skirt. Despite its simple appearance, it is assembled with a multiplicity of buttons and tiny snap fasteners, which required the help of a lady's maid to secure.

The couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972) was said to have disapproved of the complexity of Dior's fastenings.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Skirt
  • Jacket
  • Belt
Titles
  • La Ligne Sinueuse (named collection)
  • Batignolles (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Worsted wool
Brief description
Three-piece day dress 'Batignolles' from 'La Ligne Sinueuse' made up of a jacket, skirt and belt in worsted, designed by Christian Dior, Paris, 1952
Physical description
Tailored 3-piece day dress made up of a jacket, skirt and belt in navy blue worsted. Skirt and jacket are attached to one and other by buttons.
Dimensions
  • Waist circumference: 70cm
  • Skirt length: 76cm
  • Footprint of skirt diameter: 70cm
Styles
Production typeHaute couture
Marks and inscriptions
  • '17318' (Number printed on label)
  • 'Christian Dior Paris Printemps / Ete 1952' (Label)
  • '34.136' (Number hand-written on back of label)
Gallery label
(22/09/2007)
'Batignolles' skirt, top and belt
Christian Dior (1905-57)
Paris
1952 spring/summer

Despite its simple appearance, this ensemble is assembled with a multiplicity of buttons and tiny snap fasteners, which required the help of a lady's maid. Balenciaga was said to have disapproved of the complexity of Dior's fastenings.

Worsted

Worn by Mrs Opal Holt and given by Mrs Haynes and Mrs Clark
V&A: T.110&A, B-1982
Credit line
Given by Mrs D.M. Haynes and Mrs M. Clark
Object history
Opal Holt was born in Canada in 1887 but lived in the US until the end of the Second World War. She travelled extensively between the wars and was in the first plane to land in Bali. She married Herbert Holt, a Canadian who lived a large part of his life in England, as her third husband in 1946. They came to England and Europe every summer and Opal Holt began buying clothes in Paris for her life in England, and for the Bahamas in Winter, over a period of about thirty years. She died in 1980.

Given by Mrs D.M Haynes and Mrs. Clark (nee Holt; Opal Holt's step-daughters).
Historical context
The original model for this dress was Simone.
Production
From Atelier Monique, the premier at Dior during the 1950s
Summary
This three-piece afternoon dress, designed by Christian Dior (1905-57), comprises a top, belt and skirt. Despite its simple appearance, it is assembled with a multiplicity of buttons and tiny snap fasteners, which required the help of a lady's maid to secure.

The couturier Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972) was said to have disapproved of the complexity of Dior's fastenings.
Bibliographic references
  • Dress information card with photograph in the Dior Archives, Paris
  • Palemer, A., 'Inside Paris Haute Couture' in C. ed., The Golden Age of Couture: Paris and London 1947-1957 (V&A Publications, 2007), pl.3.13.
Collection
Accession number
T.110 to B-1982

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Record createdFebruary 7, 2006
Record URL
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