Keeping It Imaginary

shessouncool:

I am going to seriously try and make it down to McIntyre next Christmas. It’s only a few hours away.

aleyma: Jean Rousseau, Skull watch, 17th century (source).

aleyma:

Jean Rousseau, Skull watch, 17th century (source).

fashioninhistory: ‘Junon’ Evening Dress Christian Dior Autumn/Winter 1949-50 ‘Junon’, or Juno to the Romans, was more vividly conceived. The Magnificent skirt of forty-five petals, like abstractions of peacock feathers without their ‘eyes,’ obliquely references the bird associated with the queen of the gods. Each petal on the ‘Junon’ dress sparkles with iridescent sequins in varying shades of pale greens and blues to emerald green and navy blue, with sprinklings of rust.- 100 Dresses

fashioninhistory:

‘Junon’ Evening Dress

Christian Dior

Autumn/Winter 1949-50

‘Junon’, or Juno to the Romans, was more vividly conceived. The Magnificent skirt of forty-five petals, like abstractions of peacock feathers without their ‘eyes,’ obliquely references the bird associated with the queen of the gods.

Each petal on the ‘Junon’ dress sparkles with iridescent sequins in varying shades of pale greens and blues to emerald green and navy blue, with sprinklings of rust.- 100 Dresses

fashioninhistory: ‘Venus’ Christian Dior Autumn/Winter 1949-50 This extraordinary ball gown by Christian Dior, of foggy gray silk tulle, arrayed with an overlay of scallop-shaped petals, is called “Venus.” The bodice and shell forms of its skirt are embellished with nacreous paillettes and sequins, iridescent seed beads, aurora-borealis crystals, and pearls. The glittering overskirt and train adumbrate both the seashell motif and the crescent wave patterns of Botticelli’s Venus. Dior is best known for his revival of the wasp-waisted silhouette seen here. His celebrated first collection of 1947 was dubbed the “New Look” by the influential American editor Carmel Snow, because the corseted, full-bosomed, and hourglass shaping had not been seen for decades. In fact, the “New Look” was an old look revived. After the deprivations of World War II, Dior believed that the survival of the haute couture relied on its ability to restore fantasy and luxury to women’s wardrobes. The fragile effects of this gown, which merges Second Empire romanticism with the classical iconography of ideal and eternal beauty, recall Dior’s belief that “fashion comes from a dream.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art

fashioninhistory:

‘Venus’

Christian Dior

Autumn/Winter 1949-50

This extraordinary ball gown by Christian Dior, of foggy gray silk tulle, arrayed with an overlay of scallop-shaped petals, is called “Venus.” The bodice and shell forms of its skirt are embellished with nacreous paillettes and sequins, iridescent seed beads, aurora-borealis crystals, and pearls. The glittering overskirt and train adumbrate both the seashell motif and the crescent wave patterns of Botticelli’s Venus. Dior is best known for his revival of the wasp-waisted silhouette seen here. His celebrated first collection of 1947 was dubbed the “New Look” by the influential American editor Carmel Snow, because the corseted, full-bosomed, and hourglass shaping had not been seen for decades. In fact, the “New Look” was an old look revived. After the deprivations of World War II, Dior believed that the survival of the haute couture relied on its ability to restore fantasy and luxury to women’s wardrobes. The fragile effects of this gown, which merges Second Empire romanticism with the classical iconography of ideal and eternal beauty, recall Dior’s belief that “fashion comes from a dream.- The Metropolitan Museum of Art