The Shrimpton Couture Archives

• The twin of this dress walked the runway for the Spring 1987 collection. It can be very hard to date her pieces so it is exceptional to have the exact date for this one.
• It was made under the creative direction of Jacqueline de Ribes
• The dress was also the one chosen for the spring ad campaign making it a little extra special. I love that the reference photos here really show how fantastic this is once on the body.
• The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted a Jacqueline de Ribes exhibit in 2015-16, giving her work an extra dose of much needed attention. De Ribes was know as 'one of the most celebrated fashion personas of the 20th century'. She began making dresses for herself and eventually opened her own label in 1982 at the age of 53, producing collections for the next 12 years.
• For fabrics, she mixed a white silk chiffon that has a black dot print running over its surface, with a black velvet. All of the chiffon is cut on the bias so the dress has extraordinary movement.
• The bodice is a halter that is gathered in around a slightly scooped neck line. This hooks into the ends of the black velvet straps that come out from the sides, cross over each other at the back and then hook into place at the top of the neck line. I love how this creates bare and open areas of skin showing at the back.
• The velvet criss crosses over itself around the front of the waist to cinch you in and then wraps around the back to become a large bow with who's ends trail down the back of the skirt to just above the hem. The bow hooks into place over the back zipper so every closure on the dress is magically hidden.
• The skirt is absolutely phenomenal. It is extremely full and the many yard of silk in it gives it the fantastic movement that you see in the runway photos. The dotted top layer is cut on the bias and then there is a bias cut ivory chiffon and third silk layer under that. The lightness of the fabric picks up the air at your slightest movement.
• The halter is lined in two layers of an ivory silk chiffon. The skirt has three layers as described above. It closes with hooks at the top of the neck line, snaps at the waist, and there is a zipper at the back waist as described above. Hand work throughout.
• There is no size tag present so please go buy the measurements listed below.
• Excellent condition

Bust: covers up t 16" flat across the front
Waist: 12" flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner hips: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: approx 13.5" from neck to top of the black band at the waist
Total length: approx 62" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Reference Photos: (1) Jacqueline de Ribes Ad in Vogue, February 1987.  /  (2-6) Spring 1987 Jacqueline de Ribes Runway.

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