The rarest vintage Christian Dior finds, according to Paris dealer Didier Ludot, are suits made from 1947 to 1949, estimated to be worth around $25,000.
“The problem is, suits have often been shortened, or you’ll only find one half,” noted Ludot, who owns 250 vintage Dior pieces in his private collection. His most treasured piece is a Comedia coat from fall-winter 1949 with what he describes as an “ecclesiastical” look.
After creations by Dior, the second most sought-after pieces are those from the house’s brief stint under Yves Saint Laurent, notably his trapeze dresses from 1958, he said.
Creations by John Galliano already have gathered a number of young collectors and Ludot said he’d even snap up pieces from current Dior collections if they possessed that certain quality of aging beautifully, like a fine wine.
Dior collectors, according to Ludot, hail from all walks of life, united by a passion for beautiful clothes. But he does have his fair share of celebrity clients. It was at Ludot’s store in Palais Royale that Reese Witherspoon purchased her vintage Dior Fête à Trianon gown that she wore to collect her best actress Oscar at the Academy Awards last year. Dating from 1955, the dress was embroidered with crystals and tiny satin roses.
One of Ludot’s most fervent collectors is Stephanie Seymour. “She’s been collecting Dior pieces by Christian Dior and Yves Saint Laurent for around 10 years,” said Ludot, describing one short black bustier dress from 1957 that he just sent her.
But not everything’s for sale. One 1960 crocodile Chicago jacket by Saint Laurent — one of only three ever made — is priceless, according to Ludot. “For all the money in the world, I will never part with it,” he said.
Cameron Silver, owner of the Los Angeles vintage emporium Decades, is banking on a revival of pieces by Gianfranco Ferré for Dior.
“He kind of got bashed by the press, but I always like to support the underdog,” said Silver, who has been sourcing Europe for pieces.
“Ladies are now starting to let go of their Ferré, as it very much represents that Eighties moment,” he said, stressing that he was going for the designer’s wearable creations rather than his “campy” pieces. He sold a silver crystal-embroidered cocktail dress to stylist Rachel Zoe, for example, and she wore it to the American Music Awards in November. “My customer doesn’t like to feel like she’s wearing a costume,” he said.
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Galliano, Silver believes, hasn’t reached the collector stage. “I think when he does, it will be more for his couture rather than ready-to-wear, as it’s too mass produced,” he said.
But the cachet of wearing a piece by Christian Dior, said Silver, will never go away. He can recall sending Trudie Styler a peacock blue satin vintage bustier dress by the designer to wear to the Academy Awards in 2004, only to be bombarded by a ton of calls the next day from stars complaining he hadn’t sent it to them. While he finds Dior suits a little too anachronistic for the modern woman, Silver has sold dresses by Dior for up to $40,000.
“And my prices tend to be a little conservative,” he remarked.
Vintage Dior is becoming harder to find, but Silver can still recall one rare discovery in a retro furniture store in Seattle a few years ago: a black satin Dior cocktail dress by Saint Laurent that cost “nothing.”
“Today, as people have become more savvy about the value of vintage clothing, that’s not the sort of thing that’s going to happen,” said Silver.