Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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A-dior-ation

By Alex IlyashovPLAY Writer

Fashion can be interpreted in a million and one different ways, to the delight of style mavens and to the abhorrence of the couture clueless. Across the board, Christian Dior is considered to be one of the finest interpreters of design, line and feminine appeal. His presence in major fashion capitals New York and Paris has been felt and appreciated for over half a century. But who knew he had a major mass marketing deal and a host of prominent clients right here in Chicago?

The idolized designer’s lasting impact and crowning style achievements are showcased in “Dior: The New Look,” a new exhibit at the Chicago History Museum. Whether you’re a Magnificent Mile regular with multiple house accounts or an aspirational Vogue junkie, “The New Look” will satiate your appetite for the exquisite appeal and meticulous workmanship of the finest designer duds.

Dior’s confections from the 1940s and 1950s are just as historically illuminating as they are beautiful. The sensational advent of a silhouette known as “The New Look” was perhaps Dior’s most lauded success. The styles also begot governmental resistance and criticism for being too ornate and wasteful in frugal times of war.

Another interesting reaction to the collection was the “Little Below the Knee Club,” a group of women who vehemently rejected the new styles. The short-lived organization picketed “The New Look,” calling it “a return to corsets and encumbering skirts…a blow to women’s emancipation.”

In spite of the controversy, the distinctive lines and styles of Dior’s 1947 collection garnered a following from “high school sock hops to Chicago socialites,” according to the exhibit. The shape was distinguished by its sloping shoulders, full chest, cinched waists, padded hips and either pencil thin or enormously full skirts.

Following “The New Look” were three equally riveting styles known as “H,” and “Y,” and “A.” The elegant “H” look of the late 1940s was characterized by a high waist, flat chests, elongated torsos and a focus on the lower hips, while the 1955 “Y” style encompassed a slender body with large collar and arms swathed dramatically in fabric. The third of the new looks spawned the perennial “A-line,” a tulip-esque line swooned over by Vogue as “the prettiest triangle since Pythagoras.”

Many of the dresses were donated by Ruth Paige, known as the local dame of dance throughout the 1920s to 1980s. Paige was apparently “Dior’s biggest Chicago fan.”

In addition to her assortment of nipped, curvaceous afternoon and day dresses is the selection of Marshall Field’s-sold Dior getups. The locally headquartered department store opened its high-end “28” shop in 1941, outfitted with dramatic interiors and Dior’s Ready-to-Wear creations. “The collaboration between Marshall Field’s and Dior is intriguing,” says Paul Matyomet, an admissions officer at the Illinois Institute of Art who wandered into the Dior exhibit. “It’s great to see the transformation from a military style to gorgeous feminine looks in his work. The later dresses look very ‘Leave it to Beaver,’ idealistic housewife, like something I can see Audrey Hepburn wearing in the ’50s,” says Mr. Matyomet.

For some, the exhibit harkens back to fondly remembered eras of more demure and overtly feminine styles. “I’ve seen many of these styles through the years in the pages of my favorite fashion magazines,” says Gwen Florence, visiting from Seattle. “My mother was a custom bridal gown designer, so these dresses remind me of her work and my childhood. I also had a Madame Alexander doll wearing that exact dress when I was growing up,” she says, gesturing to a swishy navy “Y”-line number with a crisp, removable white collar.

Typical visitors to the Dior exhibit include clusters of elderly women and couples fawning over the stately styles with a wistful reminiscence for the garments, stories and adventures encapsulated by their own closets of yesteryear. “Oh, I just have to find my old prom dress…this place brings back such memories,” remarks one woman to a friend. The pair is not so keen on a spangled and poufy number resembling a Swarovski crystal-laden Easter egg of sorts. “Never in my life would I wear that dress. But my sister would. She also owned an orange hat, though,” she says. “These are just like the dresses I had in college!” exclaims another visitor.

Some onlookers find a sense of aesthetic comfort in reveling at the demure vintage designs. “All of Dior’s fabrics and his attention to detail are amazing, and at the time it was so innovative. I wish the styles today had as much class,” says Bea Levitt, a Chicago native who now resides in the nearby suburbs. “It’s not the styles nowadays that are a problem, it’s the women,” interjects Mr. Levitt. Regardless, there’s an air of refinement that permeates Dior’s designs. Between the flurry of stately tea rose prints, moir

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A-dior-ation