Christian Dior 2 Piece

M

Michelle Newson

Registered Guest
Hi All,

Wondering if you can help.

I have found a 2 piece pink silk jacket (waist length/bolero type) and dress, the label would indicate, according the resource on here that it is 1961... "Christian Dior Paris All Silk" The dress has a few faults, there are a few spots on it and threads hanging but pretty sure it can be at least be tidied up.

After some negotiating I can secure this for £75.00 - I am a newbie to loving all things vintage, and I don't want to make a mistake. I know you can't give valuations, and I have no photos of the item as yet, but wondered if I could draw on some of your knowledge regarding this 2 piece.
 
Hi Michelle,
The same labels were used across many years so we cannot assume the set you are considering is from 1961 just because it has the same label as a garment that was identified as c.1961 (that garment may feature in a dated photograph or was for a particular family occasion that dates it precisely).
I don't think anyone can tell you if it is going to be a good buy with no photos, not handling it and seeing it in person. You need to go on your gut feelings seeing it firsthand. What I can say is that you should look at it in good light, turn it inside out if possible and look at the seams to check if it has been altered in any way, make sure it has no unsavoury odours as these can be permeanant. Ultimately it is whether it is worth £75 to you in the condition you find it.
 
Hi Melanie,

Many thanks for such a detailed response. I realised, once I sent my message, how daft I sounded restricting said item to 1961! I was aware it was a broad range and just an indication of the period.

I will recheck the item in the way you have described, thank you for this. It is a beautiful suit, so I will weight up the worth, to me.

Sound advice, thanks again.
Michelle.
 
Of course, we do not validate, appraise or give values here on the VFG Forums. But we love to help with whatever info we might have. That said, we cannot give much information without seeing both a clear shot of the label, seeing the dress and a few close up photos of the construction. Since we have none of that, I doubt there is much we can help you with, that might help you decide both IF you should make a purchase or how much you might want to pay.

All that having been said, I was a bit intrigued by your post. I have not seen an early vintage Dior dress with a label that included the words "all silk". Not to say they do not exist, but usually the fiber content is not on the House label. I know we have a label from a man's tie that has those words, but a tie is not a dress. Just something to consider and explore before you purchase. A couture garment will also have particular construction details that you might educate y9ourself on, so you can inspect the seams, armholes, hems, buttonholes, etc for these very important details. If the construction is lacking couture tailoring, it is not couture.

Labels can often be switched from one garment to another. You might want to research what an early 1960s Dior dress label looks like and compare it to yours. It will not look like, nor be sized/shaped like, a label from a man's tie which is the one we show in our resource with the words "all silk".

I am not suggesting that the dress is or is not an authentic Dior. That is impossible without having it in hand. Just suggesting that you take care before you buy.

I also want to say that IF it is a genuine Dior from the early 1960s that a few spots in the silk and some loose threads are not a huge detraction from its desirability to many collectors. It would not deter me from making a purchase if the condition was otherwise very good and it was a nice early piece.

Good luck, and if you can show us the dress and label perhaps we can give you more general information.
 
Hi Barbara,

Thank you very much for all the information you have provided. So useful. Although I wished I had seen this today before I took a further trip (3rd time!) to view this Dior dress and jacket as I would have taken a photo of the label while I was there. However, without question it mimicked the label in the gallery, the 'all silk' one relating to the tie, it even had the little asterix in the right hand, top corner. The label however, was only in the jacket and not the matching dress, there was no label whatsoever in the dress. But alas, I didn't buy the garments after much deliberation, and this was based a lot on what Melanie advised me to do. So thank you Melanie.

I took the dress and jacket to the front of the shop, I turned it inside out, the seams looked okay to my untrained eye and there was no odour, in fact no discolouration in the underarm area. However, the inside hem had a pink tape running round it, and this stopped at the back of the dress which followed onto a paler piece of about 1 inch. In the light the dress had lines running through it in certain places, runs I guess is what you would term these as? There were a few small, very dark spots here and there too. I have attached a photo of something very similar in style that I have found on the internet, just as a guide as I cannot find a 2 piece any closer to this to give as an example.
il_570xN.751639525_jkix.jpg


The Dior dress and jacket was a 2 piece, beautiful pink colour in a brocade design, very similar in many ways to the above. The jacket had collar (unlike the photo I have attached) with round lapels and probably a bit shorter that the above. The sleeves to the jacket are 3/4 length and there must have been a belt at some point as there are very fine loops, that you could miss if it weren't looking in at close inspection. The dress is fairly straight up and down, as the above, and it had the same midway band running around it, it was in a large size.

I went on my gut instinct, based on all the generous information given on here. It took a while to drive off, just in case I was missing out on something here, but I think perhaps I did right thing, particularly reading about the potential for label switching.

Oh well, another day in the world of vintage - I can feel some swotting come on!

Thanks all.
 
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