This is just amazing! Made of a semi-sheer silk chiffon it has hearts and strewn all over it and these hearts are made of hand painted thatched and dotted designs that are then covered with silver glitter bits. The tie to do this must have been astonishing and the effect it creates is amazing! There is no label but it came from a trusted source and I have seen this pattern on a Thea Porter gown in the past so I am very confident that it is indeed Thea Porter. It is priced as an unlabeled piece so you are getting a smashing bargain! I love the lace ruffled edges and that dipped and tiered peplum at the back is just beautiful! I love it! Excellent condition
Unlined and closes with snaps at the front. There is one spot of thinning to the fabric under the ruffle in the front left side. The waist and cuffs have elastic.
Sleeves: 25"
Shoulders: 15"
Bust: to 21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 25" from neck to hem with an additional 2" at the back
Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED
Item# S453
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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SIZE GUIDE
Please review all measurements carefully. More often than not, vintage garments do not fit any size category exactly. If in doubt, measure a garment of your own that fits and is a similar cut and compare it's measurements to the listed measurements below.
thea porter
Exceptional Early 1970s Thea Porter Book Documented Faye Dress in Ikat SIlk Chiffon & Brocade
I Have a Question
This is the actual dress that is in the book on Thea Porter's work that accompanied the exhibit n her work. The photo appears on page 88. The caption in the book notes that this dress is a "Faye dress in ikat silk chiffon, designed by Sandra Munro, with a bodice of Damascus brocade". The Faye dress was named after Faye Dunaway and she made these in various fabrications starting in 1968. It also has a Giorgio Beverly Hills tag where she sold her designs starting in 1969. It was said that when word got out that Thea had new things in the Girorgio boutique, women ran to be able to get a piece for themselves. This print was very well documented and Thea made a small series of pieces from this fabric. Each piece was made specifically so that it was cut to follow the print perfectly. This is the only one I've ever seen made in this length and in this style. Given her extremely limited run on certain pieces it may in fact be the only one that exists. It is truly a very special piece.
The cut of this dress is exceptional and this is a highly recognizable design from Thea. The neckline is scooped and edged in a gold cord that wraps around the neck and then runs down the front. It buttons to close at the front in three groups of buttons. I love how each of the buttons are covered in the same silk as the skirt and sleeves. As noted in the book the fabric of the bodice is a Damascus brocade in a muted gold with pops of turquoise and orange. Thea was known for picking up antique fabrics in her journeys and this is undoubtedly a piece or sample of fabric she sourced on her travels. I love that you feel fully covered but there is a tiny gap between the two sides of the front bodice so depending on how you move you get the tiniest glimpse of bare skin. The sleeves are phenomenal. Each is gathered into the top of the shoulder and then they are a huge balloon sleeve under that. They are made from a single layer of the Ikat printed silk chiffon and the pattern is set horizontally on the sleeves. This makes it feels like it wraps around the arm right down to the elastic cuffs. The waist is finished with a wide horizontal band of that same silk and it is cut with a more generous feel. These Faye dresses were not a true caftan but they did have that easy to wear feel to them that her caftan pieces also have. The skirt has an incredible amount of fabric. Here the Ikat print was set vertically which perfectly contrasts all the other elements of the dress and adds visual length. There is a good amount of fabric in the skirt so it moves beautifully once on the body. This is an exceptional and extremely rare example of her work. Excellent condition with a small note below
Fully lined in a green silk and zips to close at the back. The buttons at the front are functional but meant to be decorative. Each sleeve ends with an elastic. I see a tiny bit of colour change to the lining near one arm and a slight darkening to the brocade on that side as well but it is very minor. The tiniest bit of a run in the fabric near the base of the zipper. Please see the photos after the label shot. The easy cut should fit a range of sizes
Sleeves: 24.5" and they are very full
Slightly inset shoulders: 14"
Bust: 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 12.5" from top of shoulder to top of the band at the waist
Total length: 42" from top of shoulder to hem with 1.5" turned under the hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG
Item# DD4690
Reference Photo: From the book 'Thea Porter: Bohemian Chic' by Laura McLaws Helms and Venetia Porter.
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.
thea porter
Exquisite 1960s Thea Porter Couture Rare Printed Silk Chiffon Dress w Gold Metal Thread & Sequin Detailing
I Have a Question
I have had this tucked away in my archives for quite some time and it is spectacular. This is it gorgeous little dress that is easy to wear and an extremely beautiful example of her work. It has a touch of a caftan feel to it and that combined with those spectacular sleeves makes it very special piece. Of all of Thea's pieces, her caftans and the dresses that had that caftan like feel, have come to represent Thea's work like no other pieces of her clothing that she designed. Everyone who was anyone wore her work back in the day, including the great Elizabeth Taylor who was a huge fan and collector. This dress is just spectacular and a very special piece.
The dress is very beautiful and is made from a printed silk chiffon. The fabric has a swirling paisley feeling design with a black backdrop and then the print is done in a greens mixed with pops of blue. The print runs over the entire dress. The bodice has an empire cut and the front scoops low and wide. Detailing the edge of the neck and down the front is an added antique gold metal cord embellishment. This goes all the way around the neckline to the back and then runs part way down the front where it closes with hand made frog knots made of the same cording. The cording also details the seam where the sleeves are set in and more of it sit above the scalloping detail of the skirt. Thea was known to hunt antique stores and markets during her extensive travels and use what she found in her designs and this is certainly a found antique textile. The dress buttons down the front to just past the waist. There is a seam set under the bust and then the dress falls from there in a loose and easy feel. The sleeves are magnificent. They are slim through the upper arm and then from just above the elbow to the cuff they balloon out to be spectacularly full. They are not lined for the lower balloon part of each sleeve and I love the touch of transparency this creates. The rest of the dress is lined in a black silk and the chiffon over it is semi-transparent like the sleeves. This see-through quality gives the fabric depth and a floating feel over the inner lining. The final detail is that little scalloped panel that runs around the skirt above the bottom hem. It adds just a tiny touch of movement, and added detail that is lovely. This is very special and rare piece of Thea's work and it is also very beautiful. Excellent condition
Fully lined in a hand set black silk lining. It closes down the front with gold antique cord loops and knots. Each cuff hooks to close. Tagged a vintage UK 12. Finished by hand throughout. There is some patina to the cording that is a natural occurrence of its age. A tiny bit of grubbiness to the seam under each arm on the inner lining. It is spectacular
Sleeves: 26" and 11" around the upper arm
Slightly inset shoulders: 14"
Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam under the bust: 14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 10.5" from the top of the shoulder to the seam under the bust
Total length: 56" from neck to hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML
Item# DD4570
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.
thea porter
Extraordinary 1969 Thea Porter Black Silk Chiffon Dress w Red Print & Huge Balloon Sleeves
I Have a Question
This same print was used on dress from one of Thea's very first fashion shows that was held at her Greek street shop in London. But the label on this dress was unusual and did not match the ones that would have been used for that show so I reached out to fashion historian and author Laura McClaws Helms. Laura wrote the book on Thea Porter released a few years back and she also curated the museum exhibit on her work. She told me that in the very early days Thea would sometimes meet with boutique owners and agree to sell select pieces to them. This dress is from one of those collaborations and that makes this dress a very rare piece. Once that was known we ended up finding a photo of the twin of this dress within Laura's photo archives dating it to 1969. It is a stunning and early example of what was to come and it is just a beautiful dress besides.
The dress is stunning. It feels a bit like her 'Faye' dress in its design but with the addition of those incredible sleeves. I love the stark mix of black white and red and how the print is done in panels that run down the front and back of the dress. The the sleeves and side of the dress are made from a semi-transparent black silk chiffon and that touch of transparently is very sexy. The printed parts are also a silk chiffon that has been completely covered in a graphic swirling pattern of red, white and black. The body of the dress is backed in a layer of silk chiffon to make it slightly more opaque and wearable but the sleeves are a single layer of chiffon. Their volume is partly created by how they come out from the waist and because of how they are set from the waist like that you get a glimpse of the transparency along the sides of the bodice when you move which is just insanely sexy. It is still subtle though because of how full the sleeves are cut. Each one falls from the shoulder and connect down right to the waist. Each wrist is finished with a tie made from the printed chiffon. Once on they will sit up more and billow around you. There is banding at the slightly empire set waist and this extends out at the back into long ties that you can cinch to add more shape. The print runs down the front of the entire dress, circles round the hem and then meets the panel that runs down the back. Beyond its rarity and place in fashion history it is just a gorgeous dress. Excellent condition with a small note below
Fully lined in a black silk chiffon except for the sleeves which are unlined. The dress zips to close at the back. Stiffened tulle set into each shoulder to hold the shape. The band at the waist extend to ties that you can cinch in the waist as desired. Hand finishes throughout. One of the ties at the wrist has a tiny bit missing from its edge that you do not see when it is tied. I see a couple of tiny pinholes near one shoulder. Please see the photos after the label shot
Sleeves: approx 28"
Shoulders: no true defined seam
Bust: no true side seams
Seam under the bust: 14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 12" from top of shoulder to seam under the bust
Skirt: 45" from waist to hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML
Item# DD3491
Reference Photo: (1) Model in Thea Porter, 1969. Photo courtesy of Laura McLaws Helms. / (2) 1969 Thea Porter 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.
thea porter
Exceptional Early 1970s Thea Porter Book Documented Faye Dress in Ikat SIlk Chiffon & Brocade
I Have a Question
This is the actual dress that is in the book on Thea Porter's work that accompanied the exhibit n her work. The photo appears on page 88. The caption in the book notes that this dress is a "Faye dress in ikat silk chiffon, designed by Sandra Munro, with a bodice of Damascus brocade". The Faye dress was named after Faye Dunaway and she made these in various fabrications starting in 1968. It also has a Giorgio Beverly Hills tag where she sold her designs starting in 1969. It was said that when word got out that Thea had new things in the Girorgio boutique, women ran to be able to get a piece for themselves. This print was very well documented and Thea made a small series of pieces from this fabric. Each piece was made specifically so that it was cut to follow the print perfectly. This is the only one I've ever seen made in this length and in this style. Given her extremely limited run on certain pieces it may in fact be the only one that exists. It is truly a very special piece.
The cut of this dress is exceptional and this is a highly recognizable design from Thea. The neckline is scooped and edged in a gold cord that wraps around the neck and then runs down the front. It buttons to close at the front in three groups of buttons. I love how each of the buttons are covered in the same silk as the skirt and sleeves. As noted in the book the fabric of the bodice is a Damascus brocade in a muted gold with pops of turquoise and orange. Thea was known for picking up antique fabrics in her journeys and this is undoubtedly a piece or sample of fabric she sourced on her travels. I love that you feel fully covered but there is a tiny gap between the two sides of the front bodice so depending on how you move you get the tiniest glimpse of bare skin. The sleeves are phenomenal. Each is gathered into the top of the shoulder and then they are a huge balloon sleeve under that. They are made from a single layer of the Ikat printed silk chiffon and the pattern is set horizontally on the sleeves. This makes it feels like it wraps around the arm right down to the elastic cuffs. The waist is finished with a wide horizontal band of that same silk and it is cut with a more generous feel. These Faye dresses were not a true caftan but they did have that easy to wear feel to them that her caftan pieces also have. The skirt has an incredible amount of fabric. Here the Ikat print was set vertically which perfectly contrasts all the other elements of the dress and adds visual length. There is a good amount of fabric in the skirt so it moves beautifully once on the body. This is an exceptional and extremely rare example of her work. Excellent condition with a small note below
Fully lined in a green silk and zips to close at the back. The buttons at the front are functional but meant to be decorative. Each sleeve ends with an elastic. I see a tiny bit of colour change to the lining near one arm and a slight darkening to the brocade on that side as well but it is very minor. The tiniest bit of a run in the fabric near the base of the zipper. Please see the photos after the label shot. The easy cut should fit a range of sizes
Sleeves: 24.5" and they are very full
Slightly inset shoulders: 14"
Bust: 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 12.5" from top of shoulder to top of the band at the waist
Total length: 42" from top of shoulder to hem with 1.5" turned under the hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG
Item# DD4690
Reference Photo: From the book 'Thea Porter: Bohemian Chic' by Laura McLaws Helms and Venetia Porter.
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.
thea porter
Exquisite 1960s Thea Porter Couture Rare Printed Silk Chiffon Dress w Gold Metal Thread & Sequin Detailing
I Have a Question
I have had this tucked away in my archives for quite some time and it is spectacular. This is it gorgeous little dress that is easy to wear and an extremely beautiful example of her work. It has a touch of a caftan feel to it and that combined with those spectacular sleeves makes it very special piece. Of all of Thea's pieces, her caftans and the dresses that had that caftan like feel, have come to represent Thea's work like no other pieces of her clothing that she designed. Everyone who was anyone wore her work back in the day, including the great Elizabeth Taylor who was a huge fan and collector. This dress is just spectacular and a very special piece.
The dress is very beautiful and is made from a printed silk chiffon. The fabric has a swirling paisley feeling design with a black backdrop and then the print is done in a greens mixed with pops of blue. The print runs over the entire dress. The bodice has an empire cut and the front scoops low and wide. Detailing the edge of the neck and down the front is an added antique gold metal cord embellishment. This goes all the way around the neckline to the back and then runs part way down the front where it closes with hand made frog knots made of the same cording. The cording also details the seam where the sleeves are set in and more of it sit above the scalloping detail of the skirt. Thea was known to hunt antique stores and markets during her extensive travels and use what she found in her designs and this is certainly a found antique textile. The dress buttons down the front to just past the waist. There is a seam set under the bust and then the dress falls from there in a loose and easy feel. The sleeves are magnificent. They are slim through the upper arm and then from just above the elbow to the cuff they balloon out to be spectacularly full. They are not lined for the lower balloon part of each sleeve and I love the touch of transparency this creates. The rest of the dress is lined in a black silk and the chiffon over it is semi-transparent like the sleeves. This see-through quality gives the fabric depth and a floating feel over the inner lining. The final detail is that little scalloped panel that runs around the skirt above the bottom hem. It adds just a tiny touch of movement, and added detail that is lovely. This is very special and rare piece of Thea's work and it is also very beautiful. Excellent condition
Fully lined in a hand set black silk lining. It closes down the front with gold antique cord loops and knots. Each cuff hooks to close. Tagged a vintage UK 12. Finished by hand throughout. There is some patina to the cording that is a natural occurrence of its age. A tiny bit of grubbiness to the seam under each arm on the inner lining. It is spectacular
Sleeves: 26" and 11" around the upper arm
Slightly inset shoulders: 14"
Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam under the bust: 14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 10.5" from the top of the shoulder to the seam under the bust
Total length: 56" from neck to hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML
Item# DD4570
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.
thea porter
Extraordinary 1969 Thea Porter Black Silk Chiffon Dress w Red Print & Huge Balloon Sleeves
I Have a Question
This same print was used on dress from one of Thea's very first fashion shows that was held at her Greek street shop in London. But the label on this dress was unusual and did not match the ones that would have been used for that show so I reached out to fashion historian and author Laura McClaws Helms. Laura wrote the book on Thea Porter released a few years back and she also curated the museum exhibit on her work. She told me that in the very early days Thea would sometimes meet with boutique owners and agree to sell select pieces to them. This dress is from one of those collaborations and that makes this dress a very rare piece. Once that was known we ended up finding a photo of the twin of this dress within Laura's photo archives dating it to 1969. It is a stunning and early example of what was to come and it is just a beautiful dress besides.
The dress is stunning. It feels a bit like her 'Faye' dress in its design but with the addition of those incredible sleeves. I love the stark mix of black white and red and how the print is done in panels that run down the front and back of the dress. The the sleeves and side of the dress are made from a semi-transparent black silk chiffon and that touch of transparently is very sexy. The printed parts are also a silk chiffon that has been completely covered in a graphic swirling pattern of red, white and black. The body of the dress is backed in a layer of silk chiffon to make it slightly more opaque and wearable but the sleeves are a single layer of chiffon. Their volume is partly created by how they come out from the waist and because of how they are set from the waist like that you get a glimpse of the transparency along the sides of the bodice when you move which is just insanely sexy. It is still subtle though because of how full the sleeves are cut. Each one falls from the shoulder and connect down right to the waist. Each wrist is finished with a tie made from the printed chiffon. Once on they will sit up more and billow around you. There is banding at the slightly empire set waist and this extends out at the back into long ties that you can cinch to add more shape. The print runs down the front of the entire dress, circles round the hem and then meets the panel that runs down the back. Beyond its rarity and place in fashion history it is just a gorgeous dress. Excellent condition with a small note below
Fully lined in a black silk chiffon except for the sleeves which are unlined. The dress zips to close at the back. Stiffened tulle set into each shoulder to hold the shape. The band at the waist extend to ties that you can cinch in the waist as desired. Hand finishes throughout. One of the ties at the wrist has a tiny bit missing from its edge that you do not see when it is tied. I see a couple of tiny pinholes near one shoulder. Please see the photos after the label shot
Sleeves: approx 28"
Shoulders: no true defined seam
Bust: no true side seams
Seam under the bust: 14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 12" from top of shoulder to seam under the bust
Skirt: 45" from waist to hem
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML
Item# DD3491
Reference Photo: (1) Model in Thea Porter, 1969. Photo courtesy of Laura McLaws Helms. / (2) 1969 Thea Porter 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.