• This dress is dated to its exact year by the hand written Bergdorf's tag inside that reads either 1965 or 1966.
• It was made under the creative direction of James Galanos.
• James Galanos launched his first label called Galanos Originals in 1951 at the age of 27. By 1954 he had won a Coty award and the Neiman Marcus award.
• His custom pieces were made close to couture standards and with a level of craftsmanship that was on par with the French couturiers. He was truly one of the great American designers and his work is held in all of the major museums around the world.
• This is a dress that is extremely well made with a very high level of construction techniques.
• The dresses made out of several layers of silk chiffon. There is a top chiffon layer that floats over and printed on that has a hidden silk layer under that and then a final inner deep pink silk lining. It's just amazing to see all of the extra stuff and layers. And this doesn't even take into account the silk used to make the inner corset that holds everything in place.
• The top layer is completely covered with hundreds of thousands of hand placed beads and sequins in various shapes and sizes. These swirl over the entire dress and it is just amazing to see in person. This is the level of craft that you only see in vintage now.
• The dress is suspended from two straps that are heavily detailed with the bead and sequin work. The front neck line is slightly scooped at its centre and then the back scoops a little lower.
• There is a built-in inner lightly boned corset that shapes the bust. The waist comes in under that and then it skims out and over the hips.
• The skirt falls from there to the floor and widens out a touch as it near the hem. Having it completely covered with all those hand placed beads and sequins is just phenomenal to see.
• I love the deep burgundy tones mixed with jewel tones on the underlying pattern of the silk.
• The dress has a built in silk covered corset and and is lined as described above. The corset hooks to close around the waist, and then the inner dress zips over that and the outer layer also has its own zipper. A waist stay hooks to close inside. There may be the occasional missing sequin and some are missing on the tops of the straps. There is a touch of fading to the pink lining along the inside edge of the bodice. It is very minor. Hand finishes throughout.
• No size tag is present so please go by the measurements listed below
• Excellent condition

Bust: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam under the bust: 14"flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner waist: 12" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 11" from top of shoulder to seam under the bust
Total length: 57.5" from top of shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5192

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