True Haute Couture pieces by Chanel are an extraordinary find as they are so very rare and hard to come by. This one, like several other of the Haute Couture pieces in the shop at the moment, are from one of my clients whose mother purchased the majority of her Couture pieces between 1973 to the mid and late seventies. This dress is absolutely stunningly beautiful and very special. Versions of it were photoed on actresses Sylvia Kristel and Claudine Auger. It is an incredibly beautiful example and historically important example of the work that the Chanel ateliers were doing during this time period. 

This dress is heaven. The lines of it are beautiful and as good as it looks on the dress form it will be even better once on an actual body. It is one of the most romantic dresses I have ever had in the shop and I feel that this would make an extraordinary wedding piece for a bride looking for something not as traditional. It would work for any event really where you want to feel like a goddess. The bodice of the dress is stunning. It is cut in a modified halter and at the front there are two triangles of silk chiffon that gather and drape over each breast. These softly curve up and around the neck to hook into place at the nape of your neck. At the back there is a panel attached at the top of the neck that drape down your back and wrap part way around the waist on either side. A long slim slit is left open down the centre of the back. I love how the sides wrap over the front of the dress. It is such an unusual way to have set the fabric and so very couture feeling in the way that it has been executed. At the front the middle part of the bodice is detailed in an extremely intricate manner. The silk chiffon has been gathered and stitched by hand to form those little repeating diamond patterns that you see. This is all done by hand and the work to do this and have it all lie flat and perfect like it does is mind boggling. This pin tick finish runs to meet the base of the halter and also curves down the waist seam and wraps all the way around to the back. This beautifully highlights and cinches in the waits but in the softest possible way. I love that this detailing is bordered by a little piping of the silk that has been meticulously placed by hand. This painstaking pin-tucking and gathering technique would have taken hours and hours to accomplish. From under the waist the skirt flares out to the floor and is made up of many yards of that beautiful pale turquoise bias cut silk chiffon. The fabric is feather light so that your slightest movement will cause the silk to flow around you. Under the top layer of the skirt is a second layer of the same turquoise silk and then there is a nude silk chiffon inner skirt that is fully lined underneath. The interior of the dress is made to couture standards and it is an absolutely work of art to see. It is one of the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen. Excellent condition with one note below

The bodice is lined in various layers of silk chiffon as pictured. There is light metal boning but it is meant to be more soft then structured. A wide interior grosgrain ribbon hooks to close and then the dress zippers to close over that. The skirt is made up of three layers as described above. Finished to Haute Couture standards. Proper Haute Couture label present. There is one faint mark on the skirt on one side. It gets lost on the folds once the dress is on but you do see it if the dress is laid out flat and you look for it. Please see the photo after the label shots. 

Bust: approx 17" flat across from side to side but the actual sides are open so you have some leeway
Waist: 12-13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 58" from top of shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3737

Reference Photos: (1) French Actress Claudine Auger. Photo by Christian Simonpietri.   /  (2-3) Sylvia Kristel in Chanel Couture, 1976. Photos by Jean-Claude Deutsch.

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.