Gorgeous 1970s George Stavroploulos Couture Green Silk Chiffon Caftan Dress

George Stavropoulos was known for his evening wear and his signature looks often involved draping and the use of multiple layers of silk done on a bias cut. He focused on cut and fabric to convey the beauty of each piece. It was said that his gowns 'seemed to float on air'. He launched his label in 1960 and soon was dressing women like Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Barbra Streisand and Maria Callas. The majority of his gowns are almost entirely made by hand and to couture standards. By the early 1980s one of his evening dresses started at a cost of around $8500USD and they went up in cost from there. To put that in modern terms, that would be about thirty thousand dollars now. It was an incredible amount of money at the time and yet women couldn't get enough of them

This dress is drop dead gorgeous with its yards and yards of silk chiffon and draping. It is not perfect which is why it is not double or even triple it's price but it's still very wearable if you don't mind wearing things not 100% perfect. I think it's flaws are forgivable and it is such a beautiful dress it needs to find a home. The dress is made of four feather light layers of bias cut silk chiffon stacked on top of each other. The very top layer is the fantastic bright and joyful green colour and then the three layers that lie under that are all a solid ivory. It is stunning to see in person. The effect of layering the chiffon gives it so much more movement and drape and it creates this beautiful movement when you move. The layers have just enough weight to stay in place when you are standing still and then when you move they move with you and the effect is gorgeous. The slightest bit of movement on your part or bit of air around you will cause it to move. This is a fabric that is notoriously difficult to work with and it shows just what a genius he was by the way that he was able to make it flow and sit so beautifully. The majority of work is all done by hand and it would have taken many, many  hours of work to create this dress in this way. The neckline is just slightly scooped and then there is one sleeve that is slit open down it's topside. On the side with the sleeve the layers fall into a draped seam that creates this beautiful curving line down the side of the dress. There is entire top overlay to the dress. It is attached around the neckline and it opens off to one side at the front. It continues around to the back with the sleeve coming through, and then it drapes over the back, over the shoulder and then snaps into place to meet the other side at the front. This creates this sweeping cape effect over the one shoulder. It's also cut longer on that side so it trails down and behind you. Inside the dress is a loose and easy cut that skims over you. The dress falls from the neckline, skims over the bust and then the waist and hips are open and easy underneath. As it nears the hem it widens out considerably. This is a dress that must be on a body to really come to life. As good as it looks here it is nothing compared to it on and moving. As pretty as it's also a technical masterpiece with all those layers of silk and the way he constructed it. It is very beautiful. Great condition with a note below to review

Both the dress and attached overlay are made from four attached layers of the silk chiffon. It zips to close at the back and the overlay snaps to close over the inner dress as described above. Hand finishes. The bias cut should allow it to fit a range of sizes upwards and drapes more on a smaller size. There is a slight darkening to the silk on the front like a watermark just under the bust, near the hip  areas and a tiny bit lower and toward the middle and a spot it two on the interior dress. A tiny bit of fraying to the edges of the hem here and there. There is so much fabric and draping that for the most part all this is hidden when it is on but it is there. Please see the photos after the label shots for the most apparent ones. The very bias cut should allow it to fit a range of sizes as long as the sleeve fits

Sleeve: 26" and it is approx 12" around the upper arm
Shoulders: no true defined seam
Bust: 16-24" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist-hips: open
Length: 57" from top of shoulder to hem and the overlay extends another 10" past that

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-LRG

Item# DD4296

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.