Lord and Taylor Department Store
Lord
and Taylor Designer Dresses
| A display of elegant designer dresses for evening wear by renowned couture designers such as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Hubert de Givenchy are on display in the Lord and Taylor evening dress department. Any formal event required a luxurious formal dress. In the 1950s, elaborate designer dresses were repeatedly worn and not set aside. |
Women's designer dresses department in a Lord and Taylor department store in 1959.
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wise woman never discards an evening or dinner The fashionable Lord and Taylor Department Store had many elegant departments catering to the affluent female shopper of the 1950s. Lord and Taylor had a collection of elegant designer dresses by renowned couture designers such as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Pierre Balmain, Christian Dior, Coco Chanel, and Hubert de Givenchy in the Designer Dress department. Formal events and grand occasions required luxurious designer dresses. Elaborate designer dresses were repeatedly worn and not set aside. Elegant furs from the Lord and Taylor Department Store were draped over luxurious designer dresses when worn for grand occasions and formal events.
Designers: Christian Dior: Christian Dior was the French fashion designer who founded his own Paris fashion house in 1945. His new style featured a tight bodice with a narrow waist and a beautifully flowing pleated skirt. With his 'New Look', Dior transformed the fashion world. Cristóbal Balenciaga: Cristóbal Balenciaga was the Spanish fashion designer noted for his stark, elegant designs that were considered masterworks of haute couture in the 1950s and 1960s. His most renowned designs featured huge evening coats with dolman sleeves, tunic and chemise dresses, and fitted suits with his famous pillbox hats. Pierre Balmain: Pierre Balmain was a French fashion designer. He opened his own haute couture house immediately following World War II, in the autumn of 1945, on the Rue Francois 1er in Paris. Balmain's creations were known for sophistication and elegance with richly embroidered gowns and ensembles. The 1960s were years of renewal for Pierre Balmain, who used fabrics sculpturally for the creation of uncluttered designs accenting pure structure and contrasts of cut and style. Balmain said that "dressmaking is the architecture of movement."
From: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Gottscho-Schleisner Collection [LC-G613-74710 DLC]
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