This blogger recently purchased four boxes of vintage clothing and accessories after seeing a few photographs and on a hunch. I knew everything came from a wealthy family, but I did not know that the clothing had been used for Halloween costumes and dress-up over the years. I was thrilled to find a gown with a Dior Couture label in the box.
I was not so thrilled to find that the dress was in poor condition.
VFG member Jonathan Walford, curatorial director of the Fashion History Museum in Cambridge, Canada, explained that this dress is from Dior’s “H-Line”, “…something that is more commonly seen in his suits.” Jonathan said: “I suspect there was some kind of sash belt that would have made it a lot snappier.”
Another VFG member (Metroretrovintage) discovered the same dress (below) at the Met in their digital library, showing how sharp Jonathan is!
The Met wrote on their web site that the name of the gown was: “Nuit de Autrefoi.”
Yet another VFG member, Karin (Willynillyvintage), who lives in Switzerland, added that dress was probably actually named Nuit de Autre Fois, which translates as “Night of another Time.” This makes sense, considering the old-fashioned cut of the dress.
So, through the sleuthing of some VFG members, the story behind this dress was revealed. Here are a few more quick photos showing the sad condition.
