Serious Style: A Balenciaga “Balloon” Evening Dress, 1950

Balloon Gown
Balenciaga, 1953-1954
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the 1950s, high society ladies were intrigued with the designs of Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972) who offered up a collection of sumptuous and theatrical evening gowns of silk taffeta which were inspired by dramatic drapery and flounces.

Here’s one of them. Designed by Balenciaga in Paris between 1953 and 1954, this gown of cerise silk taffeta features a bouffant back which offers an extravagant contrast to the simple lines of the v-neck front of the sleeveless sheath. A slit at the center of the tapered, narrow skirt allows the wearer a greater range of motion.

The back of the dress is composed of swathed flounces over doubled tiers of triangularly-cut taffeta. These layers are wired to help them retain their shape even after the wearer has been sitting.

Lined with chiffon, the dress fastens with a metal zip and a row of covered buttons at the reverse of the boned and padded bodice.

Balenciaga nicknamed this gown the “Balloon Dress.” It’s one of two which were made that season. The other is crafted of pale blue silk taffeta. This style nodded at the scale and extravagance of historical dress while keeping a modern silhouette and demonstrated a penchant for Nineteenth-Century designs which Balenciaga shared with Dior. By the 1960s, however, Balenciaga had transitioned to simpler designs.

Fans of FX's "American Horror Story," may be put in mind of the "Coven" character "Myrtle Snow" and her famous last word.  As Myrtle is bravely burned at the stake for a second time (this time voluntarily), the fashionista-spell-caster shouts, "Balenciaga" whilst wearing a red gown which is certainly an intentional nod to the designer's brilliant cherry works of this era.

Pardon the loop of "Balenciaga" on this video before Myrtle is...uh... enflamed, but it was the only clip available.

Print of the Day: Punch and Toby -- Happy Days, c. 1950

The Victoria and Albert Museum

Click on image for larger size.

Printed in Britain in the mid Twentieth Century, this pair of stickers was once part of a whole set--the likes of which would have adorned test papers a notebooks and other things which needed something cheerful.

Frankly, I can't see anything that wouldn't be made more cheerful by the presence of one these stickers--well, except maybe a coffin or something like that.  

We have here, a lovely image, in a very 1950s style, of Mr. Punch and Dog Toby which states, quite accurately, "Happy Days."

And, that's just about all there is to say about it.

History's Runway: The Amies Crimson Evening Dress, 1950

Evening Gown
Edwin Hardy Amies
Designed, 1950
Made, 1954
The Victoria & Albert Museum

No Society lady of the 1950s would have been without a wardrobe of sumptuous evening gowns. Draped in these gowns and dripping with jewels, a lady made a statement as she entered a ball or visited the theatre or opera.

Here’s an ideal representation of the evening gowns of the fifties. Designed in 1950 by the London couturier Edwin Hardy Amies (1909–2003), this elegant gown is crafted of crimson silk satin. The shape of the dress is created by a lining of Vilene, a thick material with a paper-like quality. This was quite an innovation, replacing the layers of tulle and silk net petticoats which were traditionally used by French couturiers. Vilene had served Europe well during the fabric rationing of the Second World War, creating volume beneath more expensive materials, without exceeding an individual’s rationed amount of fabric. The sleeveless gown is heavily boned and wired at the bodice with a band of satin at the top. The shoulders are defined by draped straps from the front of the bodice to the back, terminating in a large bow. Two bows on each of the gathered skirt accentuate the hips.

This dress was made for Mrs. Jean Follett Holt in 1954 based on Amies 1950 design. Mrs. Follett Holt is notable as having been the President of The Red Cross, Chelmsford. She wore the dress to The Red Cross Ball in London and was painted wearing the dress in a portrait by Baron Killi di Pauli.

Sunday Morning Special: A Haul in One, 1956

The 1950s made everything a little stranger, a little more stylized, a little more angular. Cartoons of the era retained some of the monumental weirdness of those of the 20s through 40s, but were a little more reserved. Let’s see what 1956 does to our Sunday friend Popeye.

History's Runway: A Balenciaga “Balloon” Evening Dress, 1950

Balloon Gown
Balenciaga, 1953-1954
This and all related images from:
The Victoria & Albert Museum

In the 1950s, high society ladies were intrigued with the designs of Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972) who offered up a collection of sumptuous and theatrical evening gowns of silk taffeta which were inspired by dramatic drapery and flounces.

Here’s one of them. Designed by Balenciaga in Paris between 1953 and 1954, this gown of cerise silk taffeta features a bouffant back which offers an extravagant contrast to the simple lines of the v-neck front of the sleeveless sheath. A slit at the center of the tapered, narrow skirt allows the wearer a greater range of motion.

The back of the dress is composed of swathed flounces over doubled tiers of triangularly-cut taffeta. These layers are wired to help them retain their shape even after the wearer has been sitting.

Lined with chiffon, the dress fastens with a metal zip and a row of covered buttons at the reverse of the boned and padded bodice.

Balenciaga nicknamed this gown the “Balloon Dress.” It’s one of two which were made that season. The other is crafted of pale blue silk taffeta. This style nodded at the scale and extravagance of historical dress while keeping a modern silhouette and demonstrated a penchant for Nineteenth-Century designs which Balenciaga shared with Dior. By the 1960s, however, Balenciaga had transitioned to simpler designs.