70.57.51

Object: Evening gown

Brand: Christian Dior (French, founded 1947)

Designer: Christian Dior (1905 - 1957)

Date: c. 1955

Medium: Organdy

Country: France

Credit Line: Gift of Mr. Rodman A. Heeren

Object number: 70.57.51

DescriptionBall gown, strapless sheath with trumpet shaped train, in white organdy heavily embroidered with symmetrical pattern of dimensional floral appliqué

Label Text:Dior often chose subdued colors that worked to complement rather than overshadow his designs. The couturier favored black, gray, red, pink, and white. In particular, white, with its connotations of perfection, purity and cleanliness, embodies Dior's almost clinical precision in dressmaking. Pink, evoking love and romance, corresponds to the designer's other ideal - that of femininity. In the case of this ballgown, the color choice of white and the subtle use of pink sprinkled around the hemline serve to symbolize Christian Dior's image of a structurally perfected and stylized femininity.