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kiki hart
Fantastic Spring 1969 Kiki Hart Multi Colour Floral & Pattern Silk & SIlk Organza Dress w Balloon Sleeves
I Have a Question
- This exceptional dress is documented to Spring 1969.
- Kiki Hart is a fantastic little vintage label. The dresses were well made and they had gorgeous lines. It is very rare to be able to pinpoint a date on one as accurately as this.
- The dress has the prettiest floral design mixed with a design to make it feel like it is a multi-colour patchwork piece. This has been screened onto a feather light silk organza for the bodice and sleeves and a silk twill for the skirt.
- The neckline is simple and the top skims over the bodice in an easy way to the waist where you can cinch it in with its matching tie belt in the same silk as the skirt. The areas across the top of the neckline, shoulders and upper back have been left unlined so you have a pretty touch of transparency.
- The skirt falls to the floor from the waist and it is made from a beautifully weighted silk that holds the colour of the print beautifully. It is quite full with many yards of fabric used to make the skirt. All of that fabric means that with your slightest move the skirt floats around you beautifully.
- The sleeves are fantastic. Each is a very full balloon sleeve made out of a single layer of the silk organza. They puff out dramatically above each cuff.
- Besides the long rectangle of fabric tied around the waist the dress comes with an absolutely huge square of the same silk organza that the top part of the dress is made out of. All of the edges on the square are hand rolled and I believe it was meant to be folded and worn on the head. You could of course style it a million different ways or use it on its own with other things from your closet.
- It is a stunning and an outstanding example of how great this label could be and the dress is beautifully made.
- The bodice and skirt are lined in and ivory rayon and the sleeves are unlined. It closes with a X zipper. Each cuff closes with back, set zipper. Each cuff snaps to close with three hidden set snaps. The original tie belt and the added large square scarf is included. The waist is cut generous and then you cinch it in with the tie belt. I see one tiny repair near the seam on the back of the arm.
- There is no size tag present so please go by the measurements listed below
- Excellent condition
Sleeves: 26" and are 13" around the upper arm
Shoulders: 15"
Bust: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 15.5" from neck to waist
Total length: 59" from neck to hem with just under 2" turned under the hem.
Silk tie belt: 82" x 9.25"
Silk organza square: 39" square
Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED
Item# DD5213
Reference Photo: Marsha Hughes in Kiki Hart's "quilt print" chiffon gown to the gala of Showboat for Hope, July 1969.
All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

leonard paris
Prettiest 1970s Leonard Washed Floral Pastel Print Silk JerseyEasy -to-Wear Elastic Off Shoulder Dress
I Have a Question
- This great little print Leonard dress dates to the 1970s.
- The Leonard Paris label began as a textile firm in 1954 and for the first four years of its existence it only produced fabric. In 1958 they started making garments but it was not until about 1970 when they started using a printed silk jersey for the majority of their collections that the label really took off. They are often compared to Pucci and during the seventies the two labels battled it out to be the label of choice for the jet set.
- This is a very easy-to-wear and travel with kind of dress. It is made out of one of their signature silk jersey fabrics. This silk jersey fabric choice is what gives these dresses their perfect drape and ease.
- Each of their dresses were made of a custom designed print. On this one a washed over-sized floral print runs over the entire dress. The colours are a beautiful rainbow mix of pastels. The flower print is large and very pretty. Contrasting stripes with the same floral print inside the striping edges the neckline cuffs and hem.
- The entire neckline is finished with elastic so you can wear the dress completely off the shoulder. If you wanted to you could also wear it up on top of the shoulder.
- The bodice is cut extremely loose and easy over the body and drapes over an elastic waist. This makes the dress very easy to fit and it will work on a variety of sizes.
- Each sleeve has that same ease to them that the dress has and are very full. They end just above the elbow and have elastic around their ends so again it is an easy fit. Once on they puff up a bit and are very pretty.
- Under that the skirt skims over the hips and flares out slightly as it nears the hem. With all of the silk jersey that is gathered in and around the waist there is quite a bit of fabric in the skirt so it has great movement when you move.
- The dress is unlined and slips over the head to wear. The waist, around the neckline and cuffs are finished with elastic. It is an easy dress to wear and fit and will just drape more on a smaller frame. The printed part of the fabric is signed throughout.
- There is no size tag present and I have put the comfortable range of measurements when laying flat below. Between the stretch of the fabric and the elastic that should fit a range of sizes. It will just drape more on a smaller size.
- Excellent condition.
Sleeves: approx 13.5" and are open and full around the upper arm
Bust: approx 16-24" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 11-20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 25" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: approx 16" from top of natural shoulder to waist
Total length: approx 58.5" from top of natural shoulder to hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED
Item# DD5214
All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

pierre cardin
Important 1971 Pierre Cardin Couture Silk Organza Bell Sleeve Dress w Flat Pleated Bodice & Sleeves
I Have a Question
- This is dated to 1971 by the reference photo that we have here.
- It was made under the creative direction of Pierre Cardin
- I had the twin of this many years ago and that one sold to a museum. It is a brilliantly important and beautiful dress and an amazing example of his work during this time period that perfectly illustrates how much of a range he had.
- The entire dress is made out of a printed silk organza. The colours are mixed together like a painting and are done in the prettiest jewel tones.
- The neckline is scooped and edged with a handset piping in the same fabric. The bodice skims over you to the waist where it curves in slightly for shape and then curves back out over the top of the hips.
- The technical construction of the bodice and upper portion of the sleeve is an absolute master class. The silk has been flat pleated in vertical rows set side-by-side. They are each perfectly spaced apart and then manipulated to form the shape and structure of the dress. Given the fabric that the dress is made out of and the difficulty in working with this fabric the skill required to have this fall over the body so perfectly is not to be underestimated.
- The shoulders are soft and the flat seam work runs down the arm to just about the elbow. Each little pleat opens out and the silk is allowed to expand outwards to create the huge bell sleeve that you see. The immense volume of the fabric that the lower portion of the sleeve has is all from the opening up of those hand sewn flat pleats which gives you an idea of how much fabric was actually used to create this dress.
- The skirt is constructed in the same manner as the bell sleeves but on a larger scale. Its volume is all achieved by the opening out of the vertical pleats that extending down the length of the bodice. I have taken a close-ups of how they open out for you to see. The skirt falls to the floor from there and mimics the shape of the sleeve as it curves outwards to the hem.
- In the reference photo you can see that a solid colour sash was tied around the waist and if you wanted to add more shape you could easily re-create that feel.
- The silk organza for the fabric choice keeps the dress feather light and it is an amazing thing to see in person. It is well deserving of its museum status.
- The dress is fully lined in pale green silk and the bell of the sleeves is a double layer of the organza. It closes with a back zipper. Hand work throughout.
- There is no size tag present so please go by the listed measurements below
- Excellent condition
Sleeves: 22" and are just under 12" around the upper arm
Shoulders: 15"
Bust: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Total length: 55" from top of shoulder to hem with 4" turned under the hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED
Item# DD5215
Reference Photo: Jeanne Moreau and Pierre Cardin, June 1971.
All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.
Shop The Look

SHOP BY ERA
1970s
“The street and me is a love story. 1971 is a great date because, finally, fashion took to the street.”
— Yves Saint Laurent
SHOP BY ERA
1980s
“I didn’t like the ‘80s at all; it was a vulgar moment of fashion.”
— Valentino Garavani
SHOP BY ERA
1990s
“I don’t get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day.”
— Linda Evangelista
From its humble beginnings in 2006 with just a dozen or so vintage pieces, Shrimpton Couture has grown to be one of the most respected online shopping destinations for vintage shoppers world-wide.
It is our mission to find the timeliness and special pieces that are cherished and coveted by designers, museums, celebrities and countless fabulous women around the world.