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.
$1,472
W 1.07 in L 8.08 in
Christian Dior 1973 Logo CD Manschette Chunky Clamper Gold Cuff Bangle Bracelet
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1973 Vintage Unisex Iconic Classic Extra Wide Logo CD Glow Jumbo Chunky Statement Modernist Clamper Manschette Cuff Bangle Bracelet, Gold Plated Very good condition. ...
Gold Plate
Christian Dior Vintage Rare Gold Statement Clamper Cuff Bangle Bracelet
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior 1970s Vintage Glow CD Logo Chunky Clamper Statement Modernist Clamper Manschette Cuff Bangle Bracelet, Gold Plated Very good condition. Light scratches or colour loss...
Gold Plate
Vintage Jean Louis Scherrer Two Ball Bracelet Circa 1980s
By Jean-Louis Scherrer
Located in New York, NY
Vintage Scherrer Two-Ball Bracelet Circa 1980s. A rigid bracelet with two round balls and an opening makes up this chic bracelet. The balls are gold w...
Mixed Metal
Vintage 1980s Cartier Tri-Tone Gold Bangle Bracelet
By Cartier
Located in New York, NY
Finely crafted in 18k yellow, rose, and white gold. Signed by Cartier Circa 1980s Size 6 1/2 inches Comes with its original pouch and screw.
18k Gold
1970's Vintage Handmade Bangle Bracelet 14k Yellow Gold
Located in South Pasadena, CA
Handmade bracelet circa 1970's crafted out of 14k yellow gold. Sleek and classic look that's perfect as an everyday piece. In good condition. Metal: 14k Yellow Gold Measurements: F...
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Maria Kotsoni, Contemporary Sculptural 18K Yellow Gold Flexible Cuff Bracelet
By Maria Kotsoni
Located in Nicosia, CY
The ‘Parallel’, flexible cuff is hand sculpted and crafted in 18K Gold, hallmarked in Cyprus. This stunning ,sculptural cuff bracelet, comes in a highly polished finish and is compos...
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
$687
W 0.71 in L 7.49 in
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Classic Interlocked Link Gold Modernist Bracelet
By Christian Dior
Located in Wokingham, England
Christian Dior Vintage 1980s Unisex Classic Interlocked Link Double Interlocked Rope Chain Modernist Bracelet, Gold Tone Very good condition. 100% Genuine. A very beautiful bracele...
Gold Plate
Bvlgari 18k Gold Steel Tubogas Bangle, Italy, Circa 1940s, Unisex Design
By Bulgari
Located in istanbul, TR
Bvlgari Tubogas Bangle in 18k Yellow Gold and Steel Elevating the jewellery technique cherished by the Roman Maison since the 1940s into an ico...
18k Gold, Steel
$19,960Sale Price|20% Off
W 0.59 in L 6.65 in
David Webb 1977 New York Vintage Bangle Bracelet in Solid 18kt Yellow Gold
By David Webb
Located in Miami, FL
Bangle bracelet designed by David Webb (1925-1975). An sleek and elegant bangle bracelet, created in New York city at the atelier of David Webb, back in the late 1970's. This bracelet has been crafted with four fluted stations, in solid rich yellow gold of 18 karats, with high polished finish. It is fitted with an invisible hinge, a push boxed lock and a hinged security slash for extra safety. Weight: 94.74 Grams (60.74 Dwt.). Size: The inside circumference is 6.65 Inches (17 Cm). Measurements: Thickness of 15 mm (0.59 Inches). Hallmarks: Stamped, with the maker's mark, the gold assay hallmark and signed, "WEBB 18KT". David Webb (1925-1975) was an American jeweler. On July 28, 1948, he founded David Webb, the company, which opened at 2 West 46th Street. Among his clients were Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Barbara Streisand and Beyoncé have also worn his jewelry. Born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1925, Webb was a self-taught designer whose work included dragon bracelets, Maltese cross brooches and animal motifs. In 1964, The Duke of Windsor purchased a bracelet for his wife. Diana Vreeland, a noted columnist and editor of Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, was often seen with a David Webb black-and-white enamel zebra bangle...
Gold, 18k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage 1980’s 14k Yellow Gold Belt Design Bangle Bracelet
Located in Boston, MA
Vintage 1980’s 14k yellow gold belt design bangle bracelet. The belt design has white gold accents. The bangle measures .7" wide and weighs 29.79g.
14k Gold, Yellow Gold
Vintage CHRISTIAN LACROIX Iconic Logo Symbol Bangle Bracelet
By Christian Lacroix
Located in Kingersheim, Alsace
Vintage CHRISTIAN LACROIX Iconic Logo Symbol Bangle Bracelet Measurements: Height: 0.86 inch Inside Diameter: 2.55 inches Features: - 100% Authentic CHRISTIAN LACROIX. - Lacroix ic...
Vintage CHRISTIAN LACROIX by Christiane BILLET Sculptured Bow Bangle Bracelet
By Christian Lacroix
Located in Kingersheim, Alsace
Vintage CHRISTIAN LACROIX by Christiane BILLET Sculptured Bow Bangle Bracelet Measurements: Height : 1.25 inches (3.2 cm) Inner Circumference: 7.87 ...
Vintage CHRISTIAN LACROIX Graffiti Gilt Bangle Bracelet
By Christian Lacroix
Located in Kingersheim, Alsace
Vintage CHRISTIAN LACROIX Graffiti Gilt Bangle Bracelet Measurements: Height: 0.70 inch (1.8 cm) Inner Circumference: 7.87 inches (20 cm) Features: - 100% Authentic CHRISTIAN LACRO...
Vintage CHRISTIAN DIOR BOUTIQUE Quilted Cabochon Rhinestone Mogul Cuff Bracelet
By Christian Dior
Located in Kingersheim, Alsace
Vintage CHRISTIAN DIOR BOUTIQUE Quilted Cabochon Rhinestone Mogul Cuff Bracelet Measurements: Height: 2.16 inches (5.5 cm) Inner Circumference: 6.69 inches (17 cm) includes opening ...
Gold Plate, Silver Plate
Vintage CHANEL by VICTOIRE de CASTELLANE Twisted Rope Bangle Bracelet
By Chanel
Located in Kingersheim, Alsace
Vintage CHANEL by VICTOIRE de CASTELLANE Twisted Rope Bangle Bracelet Measurements: Thickness: 0.59 inch (1.5 cm) Inner Circumference: 7.48 inc...
Vintage CHANEL by VICTOIRE de CASTELLANE Gripoix Twisted Rope Bangle Bracelet
By Chanel
Located in Kingersheim, Alsace
Vintage CHANEL by VICTOIRE de CASTELLANE Gripoix Twisted Rope Bangle Bracelet Measurements: Thickness: 0.78 inch (2 cm) Inner Circumference: 7....
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.
