Antique Dress - Item for Sale

#6623 - RARE c. 1954 BALMAIN's "Jolie Madame" Opulent Light Blue Silk Satin Beaded Ballgown! This absolutely stunning French couture ballgown by Pierre Balmain is made of the most luxurious materials and of the finest craftmanship from his "Jolie Madame" collection. There is a gold chainstitch inscription of this in the inner skirt of the dress. A bit of history.... In 1947 Balmain opened a boutique on the ground floor of his couture house, which he named "Jolie Madame". The boutique offered "limited editions" which could be fitted and ready for the customer to wear by the next day, as opposed to the numerous, time consuming, fittings required for "made-to-measure" haute couture. These pieces were not out-sourced nor factory mass produced. They were made a few at a time, in the designer's own workrooms, exactly as if a client had ordered multiple duplicates of a couture design with Balmain's extraordinary workmanship still readily apparent. During the 50's/60's, Balmain designed gowns for the most iconic women of the times including Brigitte Bardot, Queen Sirikit of Thailand, Marlene Dietrich, and Katherine Hepburn. Even today, Penelope Cruz wore a "best dressed list" vintage 50's Balmain ballgown for the 2009 Oscars!

The cut of the dress is very simple, while sumptuous beaded embroidery by Lesage adds style and richness to the design. From the late 50's onward, all of Balmain's embroideries were carried out by Lesage. Beads and rhinestones in a flower and petal design with loads of loops beads creating a "fringe" at dropped waist, around sweetheart neckline. There is an inner layer of tulle in the skirt (shown without any extra petticoats). The gown is in Good "tired" condition but without obvious blemishes... however beads have fallen off and the zipper just needs a simple stitching on the seam. Likely hemmed up at some point, and there are extra beads in that hem. The only real issue that is not easily fixed is some staining inside one armhole... NOT seen from the exterior!!