Tuesday, March 30, 2010

J'Adore Dior

You can't really talk about modern women's fashion without mentioning the fabulous (and french) Christian Dior. His post World War II designs rocked the fashion industry and changed the standard for women's couture fashion. I won't go into his biography (because honestly this does a really great job and I'd rather show you pictures) but I will say that he led an incredibly influential life in the short time that he lived. He was only 52 when he died and had only been creating his own line for a decade. To the best of my knowledge, all of the following designs were created for the House of Dior before Christian's death. I do this simply to pay homage to the man himself and not just his label. This first set of pictures is from Life magazine and show him in his studio as well as some lovely ladies modeling his creations.
Dior from Life magazine
The following dresses were offered on various vintage retail sites. Can you imagine actually being able to afford an original Christian Dior dress?! A girl can dream right? Not only of the cash to purchase one of these gorgeous dresses but of the 18" waist it would've taken to squeeze into it. Regardless, these three dresses are definitely worth fantasizing about. The natural elegance of the early 1950's strapless dress is breathtaking, the draping on the sweetheart bodice of the 1952 gown is stunning, and I absolutely adore the whimsy of the fringed, tiered cocktail dress from the 1950's.
Dior dresses
These beauties are from a show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Can you believe the beading on the ball gown on the right? It's absolutely amazing - I can only imagine how stunning it would've been on an elegant french model!
Dior from the Met
And although these two dresses are a little more casual, they are still incredibly elegant and beautiful.
Dior from the Met
Since I'm a graphic designer and a lover of paper, I couldn't leave this post without some gorgeous, hand-drawn advertisements for Dior. Aren't they completely charming?
Christian Dior Advertisements
A heartfelt "merci" to the lovely designer and his beautiful designs.

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