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Vintage Chloe for Elizabeth Arden Evening Dress 1980s Blue Silk Crepe Size L

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Brand Poppy's Vintage Clothing

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This is an evening dress made in France by Parisian fashion house Chloé for New York fashion and perfume house Elizabeth Arden.  The dress is made in a full length with short sleeves and shawl lapels framing the neckline.  The ends of the sleeves are decorated in silver bugle beads and metallic silver ribbon.  The sleeves have no seams and there are three vertical seams, so the dress appears to have been constructed using three pieces.  The “bridge” at the lower neckline snaps to the interior of the right lapel.  There are no other closures, so the dress has to fit over the head, which is the reason why the bridge snaps closed to the lapel.  The dress appears to take inspiration from 1930s evening wear with a line that hugs the hips and flares slightly to the hemline.  The dress is unlined.  Please note that the dress was too large for my mannequin and was pinned back for the photos - fit would be more flattering on the proper proportioned body.

Age:  1980s

Labels: Chloé Made in France / Elizabeth Arden.  

Sizing: No size is indicated, but this should fit a large size. Please rely on the following measurements for fit, taking the style of the dress into account (please measure your body, which should be slightly smaller than the measurements supplied, or measure another similar garment that you might have):

Shoulders and sleeves: 32” from the cuff of one sleeve, over and across the shoulders, to the edge of the opposite cuff.

Bust: 41” around

Waist:  34” around

Hips:  40” around

Overall length: 57", measured flat

Condition:  This dress is in very good condition with no wear, tear, stains, odor or other defect except for a tiny pull to one of the silver ribbons on the left sleeve, really minor.  This dress looks to have seen little use and was well cared for and stored over the years.

A little info about the Chloé label:  Karl Lagerfeld was the head designer at Chloé from 1965 until 1983.  He began his career at Pierre Balmain at the age of 17 in 1955.  He designed two collections a year for Jean Patou from 1958 until 1963.  He began designing for Fendi in 1963 and became head designer at Chloe in 1965, staying there until 1983 when he became the head designer and director of Chanel. In 1975, Lagerfeld and Chloé signed a lucrative deal with Elizabeth Arden to create the first Chloé  - this was the first time that Lagerfeld was given his own profit stream at Chloé and served to add to his both his prestige and bank account.  I assume that designing fashion for Elizabeth Arden was probably the result of the perfume venture.

Elizabeth Arden, although known primarily for their cosmetics and perfumes, also was a fashion house, with no less than Charles James acting as designer for a short time during the 1940s.  Other designers include Oscar de la Renta during the 1960s.

 This is a very nice quality dress - simple yet elegant!