• Mary McFadden patented her Fortuny inspired pleating technique just a couple of years after launching her label in 1973.
• This is from her higher end couture line that had a more limited production and was sold at higher end shops.
• Mary was known to say frequently that there was no greater beauty than pleated cloth on the human body and she said when she developed her 'marii' fabric that her aim was to have it 'fall like liquid gold on the body, like Chinese silk.' 
  
• The dress is made from a beautiful white synthetic silk charmeuse that she sourced from Australia. This was her signature fabric and it was then pleated in McFadden's proprietary pleating technique. 
  
• The shoulders are shaped with light padding and the sleeves fall from their narrowing slightly to their wrists.
• The neckline at the front comes down in a V and there is a matching V at the back. The bodice is made to appear as if it is crossed over you however it is all seamed and attached so nothing will move when you wear it.
• I love how one side at the front has three tiers of ruffled pleats that are stacked over to each other to just above the waist. The other side on the front and the back have a more simple finish.
• Following the neckline on the side that has the stacked layers is an attached braided tie that curves up and over the shoulder, runs down the back on the same angle and then meets itself at the waist on the side.
• The rope extends out from the waist and is very long. This lets you wrap it around the waist to add more shape. and still have a long length to let hang down the side.
• Each end has long tassels in the same fabric for the perfect dramatic finish.
• A band of the same fabric wraps horizontally around the waist and widens out on the same side as the ruffles over the top of the hip.
• The skirt falls to the floor from in a long column. It widens out slightly as it nears the hem and the vertical pleating help add to the illusion of extra height to the person wearing it.
• I also love that the skirt is cut very long which is a rare thing to find in her work. As she progressed in her career she preferred to design pieces that ended at the ankle so you could see the shoe underneath. Her full length pieces are a bit rarer.
  
• The dress is fully lined through the bodice in a matching white silk and the skirt is unlined. It closes with a side set zipper. Hand finishes. It appears to have been worn very little if at all.
• There is no size tag present. Please go by the measurements listed below.
• Excellent condition

Sleeves: 25" and they are approximately10-15" around the upper arm
Shoulders: 14-15"
Bust: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 24" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 14.5" from top of the shoulder to top seam at the waist
Total length: 63" from the shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SMl-MED

Item# DD5734

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.

• Due to new customs regulations this dress can only ship to a Canadian address. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about this or need assitance.
• This dress is from the Fall 1982 Givenchy collection.
• It was made under the creative direction of Hubert de Givenchy.
• I believe this is the actual runway sample that walked the runway. The only photo that we have been able to find to verify its presence on the runway is one from the back but it is still a photo that shows that it is a runway piece.
• It would have been made completely by hand in the Paris atelier.
• The dress is unlabelled and it is made by hand in the same level other of his runway samples that we have had in the shop.
  
• The bodice and sleeves are made from a black velvet with a flat pile finish. I love how it is cut to sit off shoulder and leave a bare expanse of skin across the top of your shoulders. Two little straps curve over the top of the shoulder to hold it perfectly in place and then the sleeves drop so your upper arm is bare.
• The neck line and the very top of each sleeve have a finish of black feathers that add an amazing feel to the dress.
• The sleeves have been tacked into place along the edge of the bodice and they have an elastic running around the top edge for an easy fit.
• The bodice comes in for shape around the waist and then curves back down to the top of the hip.
• The skirt is spectacular. It comes out from the bottom seam of the top and explodes outward around you with incredible volume
• The skirt is made out of a fine black and silver-grey striped silk that has a pretty red metallic dot woven through its surface. It is the perfect subtle touch of colour and contrast.
• The way the feathers fall around the sleeves and upper bodice is just incredible. They also create slight movements when you move. This is a superb example of his Couture abilities.
• The bodice of the dress is fully lined in a black silk and the skirt is lined with a black silk organza. It closes with a back zipper and each sleeve zippers to close at the wrist. It is finished a level appropriate to a runway sample and all of the work is by hand. It appears to have been worn very little at all.
• There is no size tag present given that it is Couture. Please go by the measurements listed below.
• Excellent condition

Sleeves: 17" from their open top to the end and the elastic stretches from 8-10" around
Bust: to 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Natural waist: to 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam at the top of the hips: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 14" from top of bodice to seam at the top of the hips
Total length: 59" from the top of the shoulder to the front hem and the back extends another 4 " past that. There is an additional. 5" of silk turned under the hem.

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5730

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.

• This dress is from the Fall 1982 Valentino collection.
• It was made under the creative direction of the original Mr. Valentino.
• This is a very rare and unusual dress from the Valentino boutique label.
• Michelle Harper wore its twin in 2011 and you can see it in the foreground of the photo of an exhibit of his work at the Met Museum. Its twin was shot in black that season as well.
• Valentino launched his ready-to-wear label in 1962 just two years after opening his first couture salon in Rome. In 1970 he expanded and opened a boutique in New York. 
• His ready-to-wear was done to give everyone access to the Valentino experience. He often based the boutique designs from his main couture label and in the early days pieces were remarkably close in quality and the line between the two labels was often blurred. This is a beautiful example of that.
• The dress is made of a beautiful weight silk in the perfect shade of purple mixed with those rainbow coloured bands at the top of the bust and around the inner hem. The silk has just enough weight to hold the shape that you see, but still feels light on the body.
• I love the unusual lines that this dress has and how despite its bold silhouette it is still easy to wear and very flattering.
• The dress is strapless and the neckline is set in a peak at the front with the four coloured stripes set on angles that slant down and then curve around the back. The silk is seamed to fit around you and really emphasize the shape through the bust and waist.
• It curves over the very top of the hips from there and then the skirt falls out outwards in the most dramatic poof under that.
• The skirt is a masterpiece. It is gathered softly into the waist and then it expands outward in that fantastic shape that you see. At the bottom it is brought in and under and there are four more matching bands of coloured silk in those rainbow colours. 
• When this is on and you move you are going to get the most incredible movement of the skirt.
• There is tulle in between the outer layer and the inner silk lining in the skirt that helps to keep the skirt its structure and shape so it does not collapse around you once you are standing still. And it has pockets.
• The dress is fully lined in a light purple silk. Light boning through the bodice and the inner silk portion of the bod closes with a row of hook and eye. The dress zips to close over that. The skirt has a black silk chiffon lining and this closes with its own hook and eye inside at the waist. The rest of the skirt is lined in a black silk organza and there is tulle in between the exterior layer and the organza. I see a tiny bit of change of texture where the silk has been pressed over the inner tulle here and there. It is very minor and just mentioned for accuracy. Hand finishes.
• Tagged a vintage Valentino 10 
• Excellent condition

Bust: has a maximum of 33" available space inside the bodice
Inner waist: to 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open 
Bodice: 9.5" from side of bodice to side of waist seam
Total length: 55" to the longest point of the back hem and the front is 46" to the shortest point.

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5725

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.

• A version with similar floral finishes walked the runway for the Spring 1982 Givenchy collection.
• It was made under the creative direction of Hubert de Givenchy
• In 1952 Hubert de Givenchy founded his namesake house on Rue Alfred de Vigny in Paris and quickly rose to fame as one of the grand couturiers. 16 years later for the 1968-69 season he added a ready-to-wear line of clothing and accessories called 'Givenchy Nouvelle Boutique'. The line was initially sold in the United States exclusively through Bergdorf Goodmans and was eventually made available at other retailers. The line was high end and extremely well made.
• This part of his brand was created specifically to appeal to his non-couture clients who wanted to be able to purchase a piece of the Givenchy dream.
• The label continued until 1992 when it was retired and re-branded as the Givenchy Couture label.
  
• The dress combines a brilliant pink silk skirt with a more fitted strapless bodice. The bodice on this one is so pretty. The base of it is a slightly off-white silk that has a white netting covering it. That is then covered with the prettiest little silk flowers in a range of soft pastel colours mixed with pops of pink and purple.
• The flowers cover the bodice all the way around from the front to the back. They have been laid out flat beside each other and only the centres are sewn down onto the fabric so that the petals sit off the fabric and move slightly with the smallest bit of air. 
• The skirt is full with the silk layer on the top and an inner silk chiffon layer underneath. The colour is a brilliant pink that perfectly picks up in the pink flowers in the bodice. It is set into the waist in soft folds so that it really has fullness and movement when you move.
• The dress comes with its original green silk covered belt that you wear with it for an added pop of colour. 
  
• The dress is fully lined in a ivory silk though the bodice and the skirt is lined in a pink silk. Light boning in the bodice. There is an inner waist stay and another under the bust and both hook to close. It closes with a metal side set zipper. There is a touch of grubbiness along the edges of the bodice around the arm areas and the flowers have softened over the years. There is some grubbiness and slight fading to the edge of the skirt hem and I see one tiny hole in the silk. The belt shows some fading and wear. Please see the photos after the label shot. Everything is minor overall and the dress presents beautifully.
• There is no size tag present. Please go by the measurements listed below.
• Great condition

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5720

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.

• This dress is very special and an extremely well documented piece from Spring 1988 collection. 
• It was made under the creative direction of Christian Lacroix.
• It has the special added provenance of being the twin of one of the four dresses portrayed in that instantly recognizable photo taken in his atelier that year. That photo is perhaps one of the most famous photos in the Lacroix history.
• The dress is from his Luxe label that was only produced the very first couple of seasons.
• It was very high end expensive ready-to-wear that was made to near couture standards and was available primarily to his couture clients and a select few beyond that. The label was the predecessor to his later regular ready-to-wear collections. It is said that this label only lasted a couple of seasons because some of the couture clients complained at how close the garments were to their Haute Couture pieces.
• We found numerous reference photos of the dress as it appeared on the runway so you have an amazing idea of how this dress looks on the body.
• The dress is made out of a printed silk organza that has a slight texture running through it.
• Onto that is a glorious floral pattern in pinks and yellow with pops of green. It feels so vibrant and beautiful with that gorgeous print.
• The sleeves are long and they are cut on a slight curve in the traditional couture manner.
• The shoulders are lightly shaped and the front falls into a shallow V.
• The dress has a little bit of gathering just at the bust area down the centre seam and then it falls smoothly  to the hem under that.
• It is cut to skim over you through the body with just a suggestion of shape through the waist.
• At the back the bottom 9" of the skirt has an inset bustle. The fabric there is gathered into a curving seam and there are three black organza half bows stacked one on top of the other to create a bustle feel.
• This is one of his most famous dresses and its amazing. It can be considered to be Demi-Couture.
• The body of the dress is fully lined in a black silk and the sleeves are lined in a white silk. The dress zips to close at the back and each cuff has a zipper to close it. Light padding in the shoulders. Laughing hilarious. It appears to have been worn very little if at all.
• Tagged a vintage Lacroix 44
• Excellent condition

Sleeves: 22.5" and they are 13" around the upper arm
Slightly dropped shoulders: 17"
Bust: to 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 35" from top of shoulder to hem with 2" turned under the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD5714

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.