Prettiest 1980s Stavropoulos Soft Mint Green Silk Chiffon Dress w Full Cape Sleeves

George Stavropoulos was known for his evening wear and his signature looks often involved draping and the use of multiple layers of silk done on a bias cut. He focused on cut and fabric to convey the beauty of each piece. It was said that his gowns 'seemed to float on air'. He launched his label in 1960 and soon was dressing women like Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, Barbra Streisand and Maria Callas. The majority of his gowns are almost entirely made by hand and to couture standards. By the early 1980s one of his evening dresses started at a cost of around $8500USD and they went up in cost from there. To put that in modern terms, that would be about thirty thousand dollars now. It was an incredible amount of money at the time and women couldn't get enough of them

This dress is drop dead gorgeous with its wonderful pastel mint green colour and those silk 'leaves' that fall over the entire dress. It is stunning to see in person. The silk chiffon is feather light and I love the airy feeling that this creates. This lightness is highlighted even more by layering all of those little attached piece of silk chiffon over the entire body of the dress. Each is attached at the top only and each is stitched in a way at the other ends so that it has the slightest touch of a twist to it. This creates this beautiful pattern down the entire dress and gives them each just enough weight to stay in place when you are standing still. Then when you move they move with you and the effect is gorgeous. The slightest bit of movement on your part or bit of air around you will cause it to move. This is a fabric that is notoriously difficult to work with and it shows just what a genius he was by the way that he was able to make it flow and sit so beautifully. The majority of work is all done by hand and it would have taken many, many  hours of work to create this dress in this way. The silk underneath is fully cut on the bias so that once you slip it on it simply drapes into place and swirls around you. The neckline is beautiful. It is cut wide across so that you see the tops of the shoulders and collarbone. The dress falls from there and drapes down the back and across the front. The waist and hips are open and easy underneath and then the skirt falls from there to the floor. As it nears the hem it widens out considerably. The last perfect touch are those fantastic silk chiffon caped sleeves on each side. Each has panels that fall all the way to the floor and then a shorter piece falls over that to about the waist. These also pick up the air at your slightest movement. This is a dress that must be on a body to really come to life. As good as it looks here it is nothing compared to it on and moving. There is a high slit on one side that is just the absolute perfect finish. It is very beautiful. Excellent condition

Fully lined in four attached layers of the silk chiffon. It slips on to wear with no closures. The inner seams are finished by hand to couture standards. The bias cut should allow it to fit a range of sizes upwards and drapes more on a smaller size. The colour in person is softer and more of a pastel. It is even prettier

Bust: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 63" from top of shoulder to longest points beyond the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG

Item# DD4115

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