Saturday, February 20, 2010

Vintage 1950s Ceil Chapman party dress

Nope, I did not make this!  My friend with the unerring eye for vintage quality, picked it up somewhere.  Because I was expressing interest in boning, she suggested I have a look at this vintage dress.  Naturally, I had to try it on, and it fits!!  Actually, it fits like it was Made. For. Me.  Smashing!

Details of note:

The dress is made of flowered silk and lined (bodice to hip) with (I think) acetate.  The fitted midriff is boned at side front and side back seams.  The boning perfectly supports the draped upper bodice in its off-the-shoulder style.

The drape is cut on the bias and tacked by hand to the lining at front and back.

There is a line of tiny perfect piping below the bust drape, and another one at the waistline.



The waist dips in the back as you can see in this next picture of the side of the dress.  There is a metal zip in the left side seam, and it has pockets!

Here's a picture of the inside front bodice.  Seams are pinked, and the waist and under-bust seams are finished with rayon seam binding.  The upper edge of the lining is finished with a bias strip facing, which is hand-sewn to the lining.

The horizontal tuck just below the upper edge, at CF, is key to the close fit in the bodice of the dress.  It totally hugs the body, no gapping at all.

The draped tucks of the bodice are hand-tacked to the lining near CF and CB.


The skirt is full circle (side seams only) and it is stiffened with horrible antique Pellon.  As you can see in this picture, the underlining is lining fabric to the hip level to ensure it falls gracefully below the waist seam, then the Pellon. 
According to www.vintagefashionguild.org, Ceil Chapman " is often said to be Marilyn Monroe’s favourite designer and although this may be rather a sweeping statement the star did indeed wear some Chapman designs as did a variety of other stars such as Deborah Kerr, who was a personal friend, Elizabeth Taylor for whom she designed a wedding dress and Mamie van Doren, who chose a white, beaded, strapless Chapman gown to attend a film premier on behalf of Universal Studios publicity machine that was ‘marketing' her as a star.

Ceil designed for the movies and television and specialised in cocktail and more formal evening wear."

Oops - DIGS reminded me of a critical bit of info - the skirt is indeed below-the-knee length.  It measures 44" (approx) from the back neck point (112cm).  Here's a not great full-length picture.

19 comments:

  1. OMG-it is stunning. The work is amazing. What a treasure.

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  2. Amazing! They really knew how to make 'em back then.

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  3. Wow! Thanks for sharing the inner workings of the dress with us.

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  4. Love the curved waistline seam, very flattering, as is the neckline. Though you don't show the full length (hint!), I suspect it's a nice & flowy-swishy below the knees number.

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  5. What an absolutely gorgeous dress. That is a dress that might convince me to actually think about wearing a dress ..... someday!

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  6. Looks fabulous, almost as good as if you had made it yourself! It is fitted to you very well. Now all that you need is a party and a martini!

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  7. You DO get to KEEP it, eh!!?? Gorgeous!! And, you--young lady--have a body "to die for"!! ;)

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  8. Isn't that the most stunning dress!! The floral doesn't do much for me but the detail and design and the fit (you had better keep it..lol)

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  9. Wow. (I can't think of anything else to say, this dress is so stunning.)

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  10. Stunning dress, really looks made for you. Nice to have the possibility to look at the details of this dress.

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  11. Thanks for posting the interior shots. Pinked seams, huh!

    I can't get over how dead-on the fit is. The fabric is amazing. So perfect for spring.

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  12. I hope you get to keep it too, or at least 'borrow' it now and then. You look stunning, to say the least. Thanks for the peek inside. Very instructive.

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  13. You do look stunning in the dress. It gives you a very va va voom look here! It's really nice to be able to look inside a really fine garment.

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  14. You look great. Thank for all the inside insights

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  15. Lucky you. It fits so well, lovely dress.

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  16. I'm sure your friend won't notice if she doesn't get it back. ;-) That is a beautiful dress: both on you and beautifully made. Love seeing the inner workings.

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  17. Yep, it's gorgeous. Totally - say no more!

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  18. That is a beautiful dress. And it fits you perfectly! Thank you for showing us the inside and describing some of the construction details --- love those details!

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  19. That is one stunning dress. I think your friend should gift it.
    I wore a Ceil Chapman as a wedding dress.

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