• A gorgeous and striking piece that can be worn as a jacket or a dress.
• Made under the creative direction of Christian Lacroix 
• The piece zips up at the front and fully opens. This is why it can play double duty as either a dress or a jacket.
• The fabric has a black backdrop and then has beautiful flowers woven through it in a deep red and an almost purple colour.
• It has no collar and the front is detailed with a wide band on either side of the zipper that has a swooping pattern made out of a cord applied onto the fabric. This panel extends down the back with more cording there as well.
• The waist is brought in and seamed and then the skirt under that is pleated into that seam. This allows it to be very full.
• Little pockets sit on each side of the hip so you can put your hands into the pockets and exaggerate the fullness of the skirt even more.
• The sleeves are wonderful. They are set into a slightly dropped shoulder and widen out to be quite wide by their ends.
• It is lined in a black silk and there is light rounded padding in each shoulder for shape. It zips to close at the front.
• Tagged a IT40, FR38, GB32, US6
• Excellent condition

Sleeves from the drop shoulder: 17" and are 13" around the upper arm
Dropped shoulders: 20"
Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 16" from neck to waist
Total length: 36" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5081

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.

• Note that due to new regulations this coat can only ship to a Canadian address 
  
• This appears to be the actual Haute Couture sample coat that walked the runway for the Fall 1985 Jean Patou collection for Look 12
• Made under the creative direction of Christian Lacroix 
  
• This is an extremely rare and important piece of fashion history. Very few pieces of his work at Patou come up for sale and this is more then likely the only piece to exist.
• Made in the Paris atelier
• Made of a soft orange wool shaped in an enveloping cocoon shape highly reminiscent of a 1920s flapper coat.
• It is all cut on the bias so once it is on the body it wraps around you beautifully. It is extraordinary. 
  
• The sleeves are quite extremely wide and they have a long wide cuff that flips up and over the sleeve. The cuff is completely covered in hand dyed feathers.
• More of the same hand dyed feathers are used to create a huge shawl collar that drapes down and over the shoulders. It continues to run all the way to the hem and circles around to the back hem.
• The coat narrows in as it reaches its bottom. This is a classic cut for this style of cocoon coat
• It feels wonderfully decadent and opulent, both key design elements in Lacroix's work. It is literally like wearing a work of art.
• Partially lined in a silk through the upper body of the coat and through the sleeves. The rest is unlined.
• Has its hand written Haute Couture sample label in place and attached metal couture tag
• Excellent condition

It is very full and open and has no closures so should fit almost any size. It is approximately 52 inches from neck to hem but that will come up a bit once it is on the body.

Modern Sizing Equivalent: OSFA

Item# DD5048

Reference Photo: Fall 1985 Christian Lacroix Haute Couture.

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.

The twin of this dress in a different colour walked the Fall 1990 runway and we have included the reference photos of that so that you can see just how fabulous this one is on the body. This dress is extra special as it  includes the incredible brooches on both the front and back of the dress just like the runway piece. It is unlabeled but came to me directly from the original couture client from whom many of the other Haute Couture pieces I have had in the shop. She was fitted by Christian himself for the dress which makes it that much more special. It is a stunning example of his Couture work during this time period. 

The dress is made out of an iridescent silk taffeta. I love how the colour changes depending on how the light hits it. It can go from a deep bronze to a more iridescent blue / purple tone. The  sleeves are long and there is a row of five silk covered buttons at each wrist. It is gathered at one side at the front with the first of two incredible jewelled brooches the dress came with. The brooch is hand made from a gold toned metal with large golden topaz glass crystals mixed with brilliant blue crystals. The neckline angles down and across your shoulder to leave one shoulder bare and exposed. At the back, the neckline dips dramatically down into a deep open V that leaves your skin bare and exposed. The second huge jewelled brooch sits at the base of that. A panel of silk flares out to one side to create a half bow, half bustle feel. The interior of that panel has extra structure so that it stays perfectly in place. The skirt falls below that and depending in your height will sit at about the knee or just above. It is fabulous. Excellent condition with a minor note below.

Fully lined in a black silk organza and closes with an elaborate mix of a zipper, snaps and hooks at the back with one panel looping through the other over the inner closures. There is a fused strip of rubber ribbon along the inner neckline to help hold it in place and this has degraded a touch here and there. One stone is missing at the bottom of the front brooch. The brooches are tacked into place at present but are removable. You can see little marks on the fabric under them where the pin has been pushed through in different places. There are a couple teeny pinhead snags on the fabric where the brooches have caught on the silk near the brooches. These are all very minor and mentioned for accuracy. Sourced from the original couture client and Christian Lacroix told me through instagram that he remembers fitting her. 

Sleeves: 19.5"
Bust: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 36" from top of shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3602

Reference Photos: Fall/Winter 1990 Christian Lacroix Haute Couture Runway.

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.

This suit is from Christian Lacroix's Luxe label that was only produced the very first couple of seasons after launching his label. It was very high-end expensive ready-to-wear that was made to demi-couture standards and was available primarily to his couture clients and a select few beyond that. It was also the predecessor to his regular ready-to-wear collections. It is said that this label only lasted a couple of seasons because some of the couture clients complained at how close the garments were to their Haute Couture pieces. Very few pieces were made of this line so they are almost as rare as finding one of his Couture pieces.

This suit is everything you want to see in a Lacroix. The colour is that bright vibrant Lacroix pink that is now associated with his name. The colour is even better in person than how it photoed too. Both pieces are made of an almost grosgrain ribbon feeling silk that has black velvet dots fused onto the top of the fabric. The fabric choice allowed him to cut the suit to really hold the shape that he intended. The jacket has a gorgeous notched collar and big faceted black jet buttons down the front. It closes with hidden set snaps behind those buttons. I love that you can close it all the way up to the neck which means you don't have to wear anything underneath it or you can leave it partially or all the way open. The shoulders have some padding and the sleeves are set into the shoulder with a slight capped feel. Each sleeve ends with an upturned cuff. The jacket is meant to fit the body with a structured and seamed waist and then the hips have a peplum that adds to the hourglass feel that the suit has. I love the extra flap that gives the peplum a double hem. That skirt is high waisted so that your waist is very defined and then it is a poufed, almost bubble skirt under that. It goes out and around the hips and then comes in at the hem. This was a Lacroix signature shape and it is gorgeous. Everything about the suit is meant to invoke curves and I love the play on curves with the curve of the dots on the pink silk. It is gorgeous. Excellent condition with a minor note below.

All pieces are lined in a black silk. The jacket snapped to close and the skirt closes with a hidden set side zipper. There is minor wear to some of the velvet on the dots here and there. Both pieces are tagged a vintage Lacroix 38.

Jacket
Sleeves: 23.5" and are 13.5" around the upper arm
Shoulders: 14"
Bust: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12-13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips at the bottom seam: to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 15" from neck to waist
Total length: 22" from waist to hem

Skirt
Waist: 12-13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 22" from waist to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD4821

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.

This dress is very special and an extremely well documented piece from Spring 1988. It has the special added provenance of being the twin of one of the four dresses portrayed in that instantly recognizable photo taken in his atelier that year. That photo is perhaps one of the most famous photos in the Lacroix history. The dress is from his Luxe label that was only produced the very first couple of seasons. It was very high end expensive ready-to-wear that was made to near couture standards and was available primarily to his couture clients and a select few beyond that. It was the predecessor to his later regular ready-to-wear collections. It is said that this label only lasted a couple of seasons because some of the couture clients complained at how close the garments were to their Haute Couture pieces. We found numerous reference photos of the dress as it appeared on the runway so you have an amazing idea of how this dress looks on the body.

The dress is gorgeous. It is made out of a textured silk organza that has a slight texture running through it. Onto that is a glorious floral pattern in pinks and yellow with pops of green. It feels so vibrant and beautiful with that gorgeous print. The sleeves are long and they are cut on a slight curve in the traditional couture manner. The shoulders are lightly shaped and the front falls into a shallow V. The dress has a little bit of gathering just at the bust area down the centre seam and then it falls smoothly  to the hem under that. It is cut to skim over you through the body with just a suggestion of shape through the waist. At the back the bottom 9 inches of the skirt has an inset bustle. The fabric there is gathered into a curving seam and there are three black organza half bows stacked one on top of the other to create a bustle feel. This is one of his most famous dresses and its amazing. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. Excellent condition

The body of the dress is fully lined in a black silk and the sleeves are lined in a white silk. The dress zips to close at the back and each cuff has a zipper to close it. Light padding in the shoulders. Tagged a vintage Lacroix 44

Sleeves: 22.5" and 13" around the upper arm
Slightly dropped shoulders: 17"
Bust: to 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 35" from top of shoulder to hem with 2" turned under the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD4401

Reference Photos: (1-5) Spring 1988 Christian Lacroix Collection.  /  (6-7) Models in Christian Lacroix Haute Couture Atelier, Paris, 1988. Photos by Arthur Elgort.

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.