The Fall 2011 show was set in a 'forest' constructed on soil that was meant to look burnt and desolate. When asked why he did the set like this, Karl responded by saying 'The world is a dark place'. To offset that gloom he put bright white lights at both ends of the runway to signify hope. In talking about the clothing itself, Vogue's Tim Blanks said in part; 'He (Karl) elaborated on the audacious theme he established for Spring, where jackets and coats looked moth-eaten or tattered. Here, many of the looks had the ashy appearance of clothes that had weathered a natural disaster because they'd been packed tightly in a trunk.' He noted this dress in particular saying; "The palette stayed shadowy throughout, the proportions slightly man-sized, with rounded shoulders. Even the more overtly "feminine" pieces looked like damaged goods, say a skirt of spectacularly shredded chiffon or a pair of full-length knit sheaths that dissolved into loose strands of wool at the back.' and finished his review with; 'Aside from the mesmerizing scenario, the collection's genius lay in Lagerfeld's supernatural prescience about the way a lot of young women want to dress now, mixing the street with enough high fashion fantasy to make the result seem rich and strange.'. The dress is gorgeous and it is always nice to find the twin of a runway piece. I included reference photos, video and one bit of a shot of the back of the dress so you can see how it works on an actual body.

This Chanel dress is wonderful. The cut is simple and classic from the front and yet the back is very avante garde and unique. It is made from a soft but chunky boucle feeling knit that combines black with a grey tinged ivory to keep with the theme of the show. On the runway Karl paired it with knit versions of his signature gloves and a low boot. The wool is light in weight but with enough substance to hold the shape. The light weight makes it a lot easier to wear then you would think. The look of weight comes from the nubbiness of the knit but it is actually quite light. The bodice of the dress has a scooped neck that is finished with a ribbed pattern. The sleeves are barely there and are also edged in that same ribbed pattern for contrast. It is cut to skim over the bust and waist. The skirt continues from there, gliding over the hips and then the dress falls to the floor and gently widens out as it nears the hem. It is in its original supermodel length. At the back it has a curved cut out that leaves the entire back exposed but then he has crossed straps over it for a bit of a peek-a-boo effect. All of the edges are finished in a fringe from the same wool to give the dress that tattered feel that was the theme of the show. Glittering black rhinestone encrusted buttons with the double C embossed onto them close the neck and straps at the back. The construction is immaculate. Excellent condition.

Unlined and slips on to wear. The straps at the back and at the neck button to close. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. It is tagged a Chanel 44. The fabric does have some stretch so should work on a range of sizes.

Bust: has no true side seams but will cover up to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14-18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18-22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 61" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD3965

Reference Photos/Video: Fall 2011 Chanel Runway Collection, Look 45. Model: Jac Jagaciak.

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

The Chanel Cruise collections have an interesting history. Gabrielle Chanel actually sailed and her love of the sport led to her inception of a 'cruise' collection in the 1920s. She was not the first to come up with this concept but hers were among the first to show a complete collection in a fully fledged show. They eventually fell off in popularity and it was not until Karl Lagerfeld took over Chanel that the cruise collections started again. The scarf finish of the skirt on this dress gives it so much drama and movement and the fabric are the best that can be found. It is a very easy to wear dress with lots of impact, and of course, wearing Chanel is never a bad idea. 

This dress has so much movement to it once on the body and it is a joy to wear. It is actually very short under that chiffon ribbon overlay. It is cut into a simple tank style that you just slip on over the head to wear. The body of the dress is made of a fine black cashmere and silk mix that is ribbed so that it has some texture and detailing. The dress has a nod to the twenties to it in style. It is cut so that the body of the dress skims over you with no seam at the waist to break the eye. It simply falls to the top of the hips where the seam is set on a jagged angle all the way around. A series of silk chiffon panels fall from that edge in various lengths. This gives the dress tremendous movement as the chiffon will move with the slightest breeze or when you move. It also gives you coverage while still allowing the legs to flash from underneath. A very sexy detail. Under the chiffon the dress flares out to a flippy little underskirt in a solid texture cashmere. A little double C logo sits at one side of the hip. This dress is an amazing and a wonderful example of how Karl took past references and made them feel very Chanel. Excellent condition.

Unlined and slips on to wear. It is made from a cashmere silk mix. Tagged a size 42. It does have some stretch and should fit a variety of sizes. I have given the comfortable range of stretch while it is lying flat in the measurements below. You could probably go a little beyond that range listed depending on how fitted you wanted it. It looks to have been worn very little if at all

Bust: 12-18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12-17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 14-20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 31" from top of shoulder to inner dress hem, 48" to longest point of the silk chiffon ribbons

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED

Item# DD3937

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

Azzedine Alaia pieces are always a delight to find. His knits were all self developed and are among the best out there. He started his career as a dressmakers assistant  and copied couture gowns for wealthy Tunisian clients. In 1957 he moved to Paris and worked for Christian Dior for a grand total of five days. He then moved over to Guy Laroche and quietly started to get private commissions on the side. By 1960 he was doing mainly private work and within a few years established a small salon on the Left Bank where he continued designing privately. He stayed at that salon until 1984. During this time period he also did private freelance work for other designers including Claude Montana, Thierry Mugler and even Yves Saint Laurent. It was not until 1981 that he launched his first official collection and by 1983 he had a boutique in Beverley Hills. The French Ministry of Culture honored him with the Designer of the Year award in 1985. In 1993 he decided that the established fashion show schedule was not for him and he eschewed producing a new collection every season. Instead he showed when his collections were ready and continued to do so until his death in 2017. This dress is just fabulous and in mint condition

This Azzedine Alaia dress has a definite nod to some of his earlier work. It is based on a very similar dress to this one that he first made in the 1990s that had a slightly different woven pattern but otherwise had the same feel. The dress is made from ribbed and patterned knit in a stark white. This lies over a nude colored inner stretch jersey. The nude jersey peeks out between the open parts of the white knit and this is meant to give the illusion that you are wearing the knit over your bare skin. This inner lining is a stretch knit jersey that hugs and molds to your body to help hold things in place and creates a smooth line for the dress to fall over. As with all Azzedine Alaia pieces, this dress is cut to hug and highlight every curve. The workmanship and the fabric is the best you can get and I love the wide ribbed knit 'ruffle' at the hem. A V neck at the front and no sleeves are the perfect balance to the original unaltered extra long supermodel length of the dress. It's Barney's tag is still attached and it appears as if the dress was never worn. It is incredible. Excellent condition.

Fully lined in a nude lingerie weight stretch knit jersey. It slips on to wear with no closures. The knit gives is a bias cut so it should accommodate a range of sizes. Tagged a modern Alaia 38 but will stretch quite a bit. I have given the range of sizes from it laying flat and being completely unstretched to stretched out comfortably. You could probably get another inch or so beyond these as well once on an actual body. The length will come up a bit once on an actual body

Bust: 13-18" flat across from side seam to side seam comfortably
Waist: 11-15" flat across from side seam to side seam comfortably
Hips: 16-20" flat across from side seam to side seam comfortably
Length: 64" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing equivalent: XS-MED

Item# DD3423

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

Giorgio Sant' Angelo was the winner of two Coty Awards and two Council of Fashion Designers of America honors and was known for his innovation and pioneering use of stretch fabrics. He has had an entire museum exhibit dedicated to his work and career and is firmly entrenched as one of the great designers. His work captured a moment in fashion history and his love of color and strong lines will forever be collectible. Pieces reside in museums worldwide including The Met where there is a dress from this same collection that uses the same ribbon decoration as this one has. On the notes for The Met's dress they state; 'Giorgio di Sant'Angelo was noted for his use of multiple inspirations. In this evening dress, he combines both Renaissance and gypsy or possibly Native American influences. The ribbon and braid appliqué are reminiscent of Seminole patchwork.' This is an incredible example of his work during this time period. 

This dress has an extra special layer of meaning because it was only worn once and it was for my clients wedding. She even sent me a photo which I have included here so that you can see exactly how beautiful the dress is once on the body. The dress is not 100% perfect but its flaws are forgivable given it rarity and beauty. The dress is made from a natural linen colour cotton crochet thread. The entire dress has been crocheted with an open weave. Its loose and easy cut makes it incredibly easy to wear. The dress has a top crocheted layer that lies over an inner stretch jersey lining. Both these layers are meant to simply skim over the body in a long straight cut sheath that widens out as it nears the hem. The body of the dress is suspended from the shoulders and falls in a tubular column to just past the hips. The skirt is set into that and is done in tiers that widen out to be very full by the time they reach the hem. Each tier is separated by metallic ribbons in a variety of bright colours. That pop of bright collar against the natural feeling thread is just spectacular. The sleeves are equally uncredible. Each widens out to the elbow and then the same metallic ribbon runs around them where they form big rounded drops to the cuff. I love the little flowers worked through the crochet work. The edges of the hem and on the sleeve are finished with a more lace like feeling scalloped edge for that little extra bit of detailing. It is an incredible dress. His work is so rare and this is just a wonderful example of it. Great condition with notes to review below. 

The dress is lined with an attached cream jersey dress as described above. It closes with a back zipper and each cuff snaps to close. There are light marks on the exterior crochet thread under each arm and two small spots at the back towards the side. They are not on the interior dress but just the outside layer. It was cleaned but not soaked aggressively so these might come out with a specialty cleaning. Without these marks this dress would be double in price. There is a minor repair under one arm along the seam. Please see the last three photos after the label shot. The jersey has some stretch. The measurements below are of the comfortable range while lying flat 

Sleeves: 25.5"
Bust: 15-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15-17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19-23" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 56" from top of shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3906

Reference Photo: (1) From original owner.  /  (2) c. 1975 Giorgio di Sant'Angelo Evening Dress from The MET Collection Online.

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