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I am such a huge Hanae Mori fan and this particular dress is a really great one. It really feels of this season and still so fresh and modern that it is easy to imagine slipping it on and going out the same day it arrives at your door. It is made of two layers of silk. The inner layer is an opaque red silk twill and then over that sits an outer feather light silk chiffon layer that floats over the interior. The exterior layer has been custom screened with a gorgeous abstract print and the effect of the printed layered over the solid colored inner layer is quite beautiful and adds an unexpected depth to the print. Once the dress is slipped on, it feels like it weighs next to nothing and simply floats around you. The print is a beautifully simple, yet striking because of the vibrant color combination that she has used. It mixes a cherry red with a purple that changes in hue from an almost pale blue to a deep true purple. The design is east to wear. It slips on and crosses over slightly at the front and hook and snaps into place The leaves a deep V cut neckline at the front. The sleeves are cut to pouf out to be very full and voluminous just above their cuffs and they have been left unlined so have an airy feminine feel to them. There is also a hidden long vertical slit on each one that is somewhat hidden by a slight overlap but as you move you get a glimpse of your skin showing through. The skirt flows to the floor from the loose and easy cut waist in a perfect soft flowing column of silk with the two layers gives it a pretty floating feel. You can easily add a belt to add more shape and cinch it in if you wish. Excellent condition with a note to review below.
The bodice and interior of the skirt is lined with a red silk. The sleeves are left unlined. It closes at the waist with a series of hooks and snaps. Each cuff has silk covered buttons and loops. There are 3 buttons missing on one cuff and I have priced it anticipating being able to take it to a tailor or seamstress and have them make replacement buttons.
Sleeves: 28"
Shoulders: 16.5"
Bust: to 23" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 18.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 18.5" from natural neck to waist
Skirt: 43" from waist to hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: LRG-XL
Item# DD3493
Reference Photo: Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture.
This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.
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This dress is from John Galliano's own label and is an incredible example of all the elements that his work is known for. Galliano has always been known for his amazing bias cut gowns and this example is a stunning lace version of that. His work, especially the bias cut pieces like this, have a feeling of high decadence mixed with the glamorous luxury of the twenties and thirties. They are always beautifully cut. His work marries the old Hollywood feel of those past eras with the minimalist spirit of the nineties and early aughts and the results are stunning.
This dress is exceptionally beautiful. It is made out of an ultra fine black lace that is cut to follow and mold to the body as it curves down the length of you. It is completely cut on the bias, is miles long and once on the body it skims over your curves and highlights your shape. It is extremely comfortable to wear and the lace drapes over a black silk interior that gives you the barest touch of coverage. The lace is transparent of course and the chiffon semi-transparent so there is the effect that you are seeing the body under the dress. The neckline is incredible. It is cut in a dramatic panel of lace that is caught up on one side. This is angled slightly to the side and is top stitched an gathered to anchor that huge collar. The collar can be worn low or almost as a hood depending on how you wish to have the lace lie and how much you allow the panel to open. The way that lace top sits you get a glimpse of one shoulder that is very sexy. Under that the dress swoops down tot eh floor with a trained back. There is a little snap at the very end of the train and that snaps into place along the side seam. This allows you to pick the train up off the floor. I took a photo of the skirt both ways so you can see how this change in the skirt transforms the dress. A tightly spaced row of buttons and loops run down the side. This button technique is derived from the gowns of the twenties and thirties and this play a large part in the vintage feel the dress has. It is stunning on. Excellent condition
Fully lined in a bias cut black silk. It closes with a that row of side buttons and loops that you see. It appears to have never been worn or worn very little. The bias cut will allow for a little stretch and a bit of range on sizing. The train snaps into place along the seam if you wish to wear it without the train
Bust: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12-14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 18.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 64" from shoulder to hem with another 19" for the train
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML
Item# DD3490
This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.
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James Galanos was known as the designer that could rival the French in terms of construction and design. He launched his atelier in 1951 and though he was never a designer that was formally acknowledged as being a true Haute Couturier, he certainly produced clothing that had all of the hallmarks that define couture. This attention to detail and cut gave him the status as being known as one of the 'American Couturiers'. This dress is a fantastic example of his work and its twin is held in the permanent archives of the Goldstein Museum
This dress with its huge bright print that runs down the front is exceptional. I absolutely love the drama and high couture feel of it. The fabric is beautiful. It is a gorgeous black silk crepe that has a good weight to it so that the lines he wished the dress to have stay perfectly in place once it is on the body. The body is cut to skim over you and the neckline is cut in a wide low V. The width of that V leaves just a touch of collar bone exposed. The sleeves end at above the elbow and each puffs out above the piped cuff. The back dips into an even lower V which leaves a large expanse of skin exposed. The skirt falls from under the bodice and it is interesting how it is set on a curve under the bust at the front instead of a more standard straight seam. Tiny soft folds run around this curve and it wraps around the sides and part way at the back. This curve perfectly follows the top of the floral design that has the feel of a piece of art painted into the fabric. The one single huge flower runs the full length of the skirt to the just above the hem where the leaves of the flower peak out. The back is left a solid black so that you get this long unbroken line with just a hint of what is happening on the front from the bits of the print that peek out at the sides. It is amazing. Excellent condition.
Fully lined in a black silk. The inside seams are ribbon edge finished. Hand finished and closes with a hand set, back painted zipper that is offset to follow a seam
Shoulders: approx 16"
Bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 57" from shoulder to hem, with 4" turned up under the hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED
Item# DD3489
Reference Photos: (1) Spring 1964 James Galanos Couture Runway. / (2) 1965-1975 James Galanos Dress at the Goldstein Museum of Design Collection.
This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.