APPLIED ART : COSTUME

Black slub silk, short sleeved cocktail dress, with boat neck - sleeves rest on edge of shoulder. Neckline trimmed with double bows each side of c/f dip c/b zip. Princess cut, in gores expanding to create full skirt. Elaborate net and bone under-bodice, heavy net underskirts.

Label: Christian Dior Paris, Made in France, Couture number illegible.

Dior was one of the most influential twentieth century fashion designers. He worked briefly with Piquet and Lelong in the late 1930s and mid '40s, but success, though late, was instant when in 1947, backed by the fabric millionaire Boussac, he launched his own label with what became known as the 'New Look'. This ultra feminine style, with long, full skirts, soft shoulder line, and emphasised waist was an instantly popular contrast with the broad-shouldered wartime and austerity fashions of the late thirties to mid forties.