1950s French Couture Floral Silk Dress with Purple Bow

This exceptional 1950s to early 1960s dress was couture crafted from boldly printed, floral silk in France. Strongly reminiscent of Cristóbal Balenciaga’s work during this era, the tulip silhouette was his innovation and a signature of the fashion house he founded. A close study of the dress reveals the masterful tailoring; a carefully crafted combination of hand and machine sewing. Any labelling the dress had has been lost to the passage of time.

The sumptuous teal and purple tonal silk of the dress is pleated at the front and pulled up to reveal an underskirt of the same fabric. Two purple grosgrain ribbon bands which match the bow give the appearance of an adjustable, ruched hemline. The wide boat neckline gives way to a V shape at the back and is secured with a tonal purple hidden zip. Lined in black silk and mesh; additionally, the underskirt of floral silk and viscose or acetate to provide structure.

Dresses of this workmanship are increasingly rare to market and this is fresh from a collector wearer who is downsizing. A real statement look for any event with the added advantage of being both a day dress and an evening wear piece. In superb vintage condition with no faults of any note; very fresh looking. Suggested size is a UK 8-10 or US 4-6. This dress was quite roomy on our model, size UK 6-8 and 5ft 4in / 163 cm. 

MEASUREMENTS
Bust - 35 in. (88.9 cm)
Waist - 25 in. (63.5 cm)
Hip - 40 in. (101.6 cm)
Length - 40.5 in. (102.87 cm)