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.
Vintage Guerlain Chant d’Arômes Refillable Atomizer Case Enameled France 1962
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Guerlain “Chant d’Arômes” Refillable Atomizer Case, Enameled Metal, France, circa 1962 A rare and elegant vintage atomizer case by Guerlain, created for the iconic fragrance Chant d...
Vintage Christian Dior Elegant Classic Necktie 1980
By Christian Dior
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Vintage Christian Dior Elegant Classic Necktie 1980. Vintage Silk Neck Tie in Brown Colors with Dior logo. A timeless classic, this tie is design...
CHRISTIAN DIOR MONSIEUR Red Silk Neck Tie with the France Ship Design
By Dior Homme, Christian Dior
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
CHRISTIAN DIOR MONSIEUR silk tie men dress necktie. CHRISTIAN DIOR MONSIEUR Red Silk Neck Tie with boat design tie fancy printed silk, hand made in France. The tie is crafted in red ...
Antique French Oriental Bangle Bracelet 18 Karat 1930s
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Antique Victorian 2 tone Rose Gold French Oriental Bangle Bracelet 18 Karat. An exceptional example of antique fine Victorian Colonial style jewellery well done in Oriental design. The piece has a circumference of just over 8 inches. It is just over 2.85 inches wide at its widest diamter. French 1930's 18k with 2 tone gold bangle bracelet with fine design filigree cutout. This bracelet exemplifies a show piece and is not easy to describe so we will let the photos do it justice. However here are a few specs. French hallmarks: Eagle head. Made in France for the North African market during the French Colonies. Probably made for Algeria. Made in France Circa 1930s. Jewelry Type: Bracelet Bangle. Metal: 18k Gold, 2 gold tones (rose and gold) 18 Karat Gold weight: 40.61 Gr. Weight: 1.432 Oz. Widest part: 7.25 cm 2.85 inches. Circumference. ext: 25.5cm. 10 inches. Circumference. int: 20.5 cm. 8 inches. Diameter: 7.25 cm. 2.85 in. This is a truly fine piece of handmade antique jewelry...
Gold, 18k Gold
Victorian 18 Karat Gold French Oriental Bangle Bracelet
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Victorian Gold French Oriental Bangle Bracelets 18 Karat. An exceptional example of antique finery Victorian style jewellery bracelet well done in Oriental style design. It is just over 1 inches wide. French 1930's 18k gold Oriental style bangle bracelet. The bracelet exemplifies a show piece and is not easy to describe so we will let the photos do it justice. The details for this beautiful bracelets set are listed down below: Bracelet type- Bangle Metal quality- 18 Karat Yellow Gold Diameter: Width- 6.53 Millimeters Weight: 18 Gr. Weight: 0. 605 Oz. French hallmarks: 750 for 18 karat gold. Made in France Circa 1930s. Jewelry Type: Bracelet Bangle. Metal: 18k Gold. Diameter: 7 cm . 2.75 in. inside 3 in. out. Circumference. ext: 22 cm. 8.66 inches. Circumference. int: 17 cm. 6.69 inches. 18 karat yellow gold bangle bracelets. This is a truly fine piece of handmade antique jewelry...
Gold, 18k Gold
Vintage Moorish Style Gilt Ceramic Perfume Bottle with Stopper Hollywood Regency
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
An elegant vintage gilt ceramic perfume bottle featuring a sculptural fluted silhouette with a matching fitted stopper. Finished in a rich matte gold gilt finish, its ribbed organic ...
Christian Dior Casablanca Mug Fine China Porcelain Japan (Chipped)
By Christian Dior
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Christian Dior "Casablanca" Fine China 24K Gold Trim porcelain mug. The mug has a small chip at the top rim and needs restoration. The “Casablanca” pattern features an Art Deco inspired repeat pattern of red collared cheetahs amidst green palm trees around a black, gold, and red geometric border. The rim is punctuated by a discrete Dior logo inside of a 24k gold band. The mug is stamped on the bottom “Christian Dior Fine China...
Porcelain
Antique Early 19th c. French Empire Paris Porcelain Coffee Cup or Can by Dihl
Located in Litchfield, CT
Antique early 19th century Paris porcelain coffee cup or can by Dihl circa 1800. Decorated with floral sprig in shades of purple and green. Measures 3 1/2" across over handle x 2 1/2...
Porcelain
Richard Ginori Italian Porcelain Espresso Coffee Tea Cup Saucer
By Richard Ginori
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful vintage Italian porcelain espresso coffee or tea demitasse cup and saucer 'Toscana' by designer Richard Ginori, circa mid-20th century, ...
Ceramic, Porcelain
18th Century Italian Doccia Porcelain Coffee Can Cup and Saucer, Circa 1790
By Doccia Porcelain
Located in Litchfield, CT
Antique 18th century Italian Doccia porcelain coffee cup and saucer, circa 1790. Decorated with birds in a landscape. Cup measures 2 1/2" tall x 3 1/8" across over handle x 2 1/4" di...
Porcelain
18th Century Italian Doccia Porcelain Coffee Can Cup and Saucer, Circa 1790
By Doccia Porcelain
Located in Litchfield, CT
Antique 18th century Italian Doccia porcelain coffee cup and saucer, circa 1790. Decorated with birds in a landscape. Cup measures 2 1/2" tall x 3 1/8" across over handle x 2 1/4" di...
Porcelain
Richard Ginori Italian White & Gold Coffee or Tea Cup, circa 1960s, 8 Avail
By Richard Ginori
Located in New York, NY
Very beautiful vintage Italian white porcelain with gold gilt coffee or tea cup(s) by designer Richard Ginori, Italy, circa mid-20th century, circa 1960s. Colors include: gold gilt a...
Gold
Andy Warhol and the fashion house’s first collections were among the creative director’s inspirations.
There's a renewed appreciation for the era's aesthetic, perhaps most notably among millennials seeking authentic, easy style.
