DOVIMA AND AVEDON - PARIS 1950

Fath's reversible red satin evening dress, flaring below the knee. The cape is in green - the reverse side of the satin - and held by two cufflike bands of mink

Dior's steel gray ottoman with taffeta panels in lighter grays

Chaumont's white tulle with bias skirt

Chaumont's silk sheath in olive satin

Balenciaga's gold-embroidered sheath, with a chiffon jacket

Gres's arum lily - white satin over lemon jersey
Fath's huge stole over beige faille
Gres's red faille showing white jersey in front
Balenciaga's satin basque, heavily jewelled, over pale pink tulle 

Balenciaga's white satin dress with a tight bodice embroidered with rubies and pearls.






The Evening Fashion at the Paris Openings
Harper's Bazaar September 1950
Photography: Richard Avedon
Model: Dovima

... eyes on the fifties at devodotcom

PARIS REPORT FALL 1951

Carmel Snow Reports From Paris

Black curled hat in gold velours - one of Balenciaga's sensational new shapes.

"Once again the miracle happened. Once again in Paris I have seen fashion given new enchantment, fresh elegance, new nuances where none seemed possible - more so than ever this season by Balenciaga and Dior."

Balenciaga

"Once again I saw the vitality of the French dressmaker galvanize whole rooms full of women. There wasn't one among us who didn't see the world from a new angle as the wonderful new hats went by, who didn't pull in her midriff st the sight of the new tight-ribbed princesse dresses, who didn't feel the new cancan ruffles kicking prettily around her own knees."

Balenciaga

Fath

Dior

Smoke gray faille, the diaphragm held tight, and the bosom high, by a band of faille with moss green velvet set in at the bosom and in a wedge down the back of the skirt.

It's a Cinch

Carmen Dell'Orefice demonstrates the Warner's half-brassiere and garter belt -  all in one in this iconic photograph by Lillian Bassman.

"It laces up the back, pulls your waist in small and it has a fit as smooth as a postage stamp. Inch for inch, it's the best investment we know for a tiny-waisted, tight-ribbed decollete dress."

The Cancan

"Balenciaga's new evening silhouette. Black velvet with a kick of intensely pink ruffles to the side."

Carmel Snow's Report from Paris

Harper's Bazaar September 1951

Photography: Louise Dahl-Wolfe

... eyes on the fifties at devodotcom