yves saint laurent

Amazing Fall 1973 Yves Saint Laurent Haute Couture Runway Off Shoulder Ivory Dress w Hand Applied Dots

The Shrimpton Couture Archives

  • The twin of the dress in black walked the runway for the Fall 1970 Haute Couture collection.
  • It was made under the creative direction of Yves Saint Laurent 
  • I love that we have a reference photo for you to see this dress on the body. It is very hard to photo these when they are on a dress form and the runway photo really shows you how it comes to life once it is on.
  • This would have been made completely by hand to Couture standards in the Paris atelier.
  • The dress is made from deep ivory silk chiffon that has little silk dots covering the entire surface of the dress. When you look at the back side of the fabric you can see how these have been lightly hand stitched into place. Incredible.
  • The neckline is wide which allows you to wear it off the shoulder. I love how this leaves a bare expanse of skin across the top of your shoulders.
  • The sleeves narrowed down to the cuffs and are unlined so they have a touch of transparency. Each ends in a series of five handmade silk covered buttons and loops.
  • The bodice blouses over you slightly and the waist is seamed. You could add a belt if you wanted to add more shape and definition.
  • It skims over the hips from there and widens out as it nears the hem. The entire hem is finished with an 11" ruffle all the way around and it is set so that the front sits higher than the back. There is a second 6" panel of the same fabric underneath the top ruffle to help hold a bit of volume.
  • The ruffle around the hem beautifully ties in with the 5" ruffle that goes all the way around your shoulders. When the dress is on and you move you get slight movement from both sets of ruffles and it is very pretty.
  • The dress is fully lined in a handset silk through the bodice and skirt. The sleeves are unlined. The inner body closes with a handset zipper and then the dress buttons to close over that. The silk of the dress feels like it has softened slightly and I see a bit of stress to the edges of some of the silk covered buttons and some teeny tiny areas here and there on the fabric. There is the tiniest bit of grubbiness around the edges of the shoulders and along the seams under the arms. The zipper feels slightly loose but does stay up. I am being extremely picky but mentioning all for accuracy. 
  • There is no size tight present because it is Couture so please go by the measurements below.
  • Excellent overall condition

Sleeves: 23" and are 11" around the upper arm
Inner bust: to 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner hips: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: approx 16" from top of natural shoulder to waist
Total length: 49" from top of natural shoulder to front hem, 57" to the back hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Reference Photo: Fall 1973 Yves Saint Laurent 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.

Setting up a layaway is super easy and we are happy to provide this service!

Here's how deposits work on a standard layaway:

  • We require three equal payments of the layaway total. You will be invoiced for the first amount upon request
  • payment two of the remaining balance will be billed two weeks from the date of the initial deposit.
  • The final payment is due two weeks after the second payment and shipping will be billed on this invoice as well.
  • items less then $500, or that are on sale, require a 50% deposit with the final payment due in two weeks from the date of deposit 

Read More

We offer flat rate Standard UPS shipping worldwide. All shipping options are displayed at checkout in the pull down menus provided.

Want it faster?

We offer flat rates for expedited and express shipping options - these will also display at check out and can be selected with the drop down menu during the checkout process.

Read More

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.

SEE MORE FROM YVES SAINT LAURENT