This comes from the same collection of couture pieces that I am handling at the moment for my client and all she could recall for this piece was this it was her mothers, it was from Chanel and that it was from the eighties, maybe early 90s. I have not yet found a photo reference for this one but when I do I will add it or send to the new owner. The set is incredibly beautiful on the body. 

The dress is stunning. It is made up of two separate pieces. The top piece is an inky black tabard that is made out of a rich soft silk velvet. At the front it is cut in a simple sleeveless sheath that has a subtle seam just under the bodice. The back dips into a low square to show a bare expanse of skin. Inside it is lined in a hand set heavy black silk that feels amazing against the skin. It closes at the side with a zipper but only to the top of the hip. Under that it is completely open on that side. You then wear the skirt under this and the skirt acts as a bit of coverage to keep the top layer from being completely scandalous. The skirt is marvellous. It is as light as air and made of alternating squares of a very fine netting with a lace flower woven through the netting. The squares are set on their sides so they become diamonds and the lace diamonds are offset with solid black diamonds made of a fine black silk. The skirt is meant to be worn under the velvet tabard dress so that it just peaks out along the side of the dress that has that extreme slit. This still leaves your leg completely exposed underneath right to the hip so it is very sexy but in an insanely subtle and refined manner. The skirt is very light in a weight and very beautiful. I love that they did the same amount of work on it all the way around for the entire skirt even though you only see that bit down one leg when the pieces are worn together. These are the types of extravagances that you find and fall in love with in true couture. It is stunning on the body. Excellent condition 

The tabard over dress is fully lined in a black silk and the skirt is unlined. Both pieces close with side zippers and the skirt has hook & eye at the waist band. All the interior work is done by hand to Haute Couture standards. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. Sourced from the original couture client 

Tabard
Bust: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam under bust: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Natural waist: 15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 13" from top of shoulder to seam under waist
Skirt: 44.5" from waist to hem
Slit: 37" from hem up

Skirt
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 43" from waist to hem
Slit: 17.5" from hem up 

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3584

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

This incredible dress is from the Fall 2000 Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture collection and its twin walked the runway that season. The collection was lauded by the press. Marie Claire said 'Faithful to himself, Yves Saint Laurent has once again surpassed himself, without ever betraying the clean look that has become his signature.' The New York Times review by Cathryn Horn noted that the show was attended by ladies such as Nan Kempner who sat just a few chairs away from Catherine Deneuve and Lauren Bacall. Nan was seen in the audience saying 'fabulous' as the dresses paraded past. The Times review included remarks on all of the couture shows that season and said that the 'day belonged to Saint Laurent'. They also noted that "There have been a lot of Saint Laurent shows in recent years when nothing clicked and you thought, 'Okay, this is as good as it's going to get.' But the thing one realized the other day was how vast and deep are Mr. Saint Laurent's reserves of creativity compared with those of other, younger designers who blow themselves out early and then spend the next 10 or 15 years splashing around in the same puddle." This dress is exceptional and a rare piece from one of his final collections. That same NYT article also noted that during this time period, couture dresses had a start cost of $50,000 ($75k in modern dollars), and went up from there. This dress is sourced from the original couture client.  

The dress is exquisite and I love that you can see just how wonderful it is on the body from the runway reference photos that I have found for you. It is made from an inky black silk velvet with inset panels around the skirt. The sleeves are long and straight and the dress is cut to sit fully off the shoulders. This allows your entire upper shoulders to show. It skims over the body and the velvet lies over a fully built in inner corseting that gives support and keeps the dress perfectly in place. This inner corset is fully boned and closes with its own separate zipper. The dress skims over the body with vertical seaming all around for each panel that the dress is made up of. It is meant to sit so that your shoes show from under the skirt and this length also gives the skirt the best possible length to show off its fullness and the ingenious insets all around the skirt. Just below the hips he has inset panels that are made from knife pleated black silk netting. The are set in in such a way that each is very full. The result is that you get a stunning bit of volume through the lower skirts as these flare out around you and move when you move. They have a touch of transparency to them so you get a suggestion of leg showing as you walk. A wide silk satin ties at the waist for the perfect finish. Yves once said of the colour black "I love black because it affirms, designs, and styles. A woman in a black dress is a pencil stroke". The dress looks to have been unworn or worn very little and was sourced form the original couture client. Excellent condition  

The outer velvet layer is fully interlined in a fine black silk satin. The built in corset is boned and shaped. It closes with its own zipper and has an inner waist stay that hooks to close. The exterior layer closes with a hand set zipper. Done with Haute Couture construction techniques. The silk ribbon belt is not original to the dress. It appears to have been unworn or worn very little

Sleeves: 22"
Inner bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner waist: 14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: approx 56" from natural shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3586

Reference Photos: Fall 2000 Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Runway.

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

Christian Lacroix launched his Haute Couture house in 1987 and his work was instantly revered world wide. He defined an era and he was crowned the King of Couture. A ready-to-wear line soon followed along with perfumes and menswear. His collections were always exotic and lavish affairs. He drew his inspirations from across the decades and I doubt there was ever a more high glamour couturier. This dress is very special and a stunning example of his work during this time period. It has all the signature Lacroix drama that you could ask for. It comes to me from the original couture client. This is his main pink label that was still being produced in France at this point as opposed to later pieces that were manufactured elsewhere. It was very high end, expensive ready-to-wear that was made to near couture standards. For the Fall 1998 runway this dress was shown in a deep burgundy but my client purchased hers in this glorious all black version. 

The dress is classic Lacroix from his early years with all the high end drama we love about his work. The dress is sleeveless with wide straps that curve up and around the shoulder. The bust is meant to be fitted and the neckline is scooped at both the front and the back. There is a full built in corseted inner dress that is boned and shaped through the bodice and has extensive attached underskirts. It is attached all along the neckline and around the arms and then it falls under the outer velvet layer. The outer layer is made of a black velvet that is soft to the touch and very rich in feel. It is shaped with long vertical seaming to lie over the inner dress. On either side of the hip of the velvet layer the fabric has been gathered with extra long ribbons that you can use to adjust the length on the sides up or down as you wish. For the photos, I have put them up a little more so you can see the underskirt, while on the runway shot you can see that they styled it with one side a little longer than the other. I love that you can adjust it like that. The inner corset is made of a combination of taffeta, boning and a fine mesh netting. The entire lower portion of the skirt is finished with his signature gathered and puffed taffeta that gives it tons of volume. Each layer of the fabric is light but when all the layers, and the sheer volume of fabric that has been used, is combined the overall weight of the dress is substantial and it feels like a couture piece. The velvet at the back of the skirt is longer and slightly trained. There is a final gathered seam that runs from the mid-back to the centre of the back of the skirt's hem. For this one the ribbon ties at the top to add detailing there and again you can adjust it if you wish to be longer or shorter. You can see how stupendous this moves in the attached runway video of the burgundy version. This comes from one of his the original couture clients. Excellent condition 

Fully lined in a full corseted and skirted underdress as described above. It closes with a hand set side zipper on the inner dress and another zipper on the black velvet top layer. Each side and the back of the velvet layer are adjustable in length with the ribbons that you see. The interior corset is boned and the underskirt is made up of several layers for volume and shape. Tagged a 42

Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner corset waist: 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 11" from top of bodice to waist
Skirt: 59" from shoulder to front hem and the train at the back adjust to same length to up to approx 20" longer 

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3585

Reference Photos: Fall 1998 Christian Lacroix Runway.

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