This 1960s couture amethyst purple dress is a real showstopper. Tailored from two frothy layers of purple silk of the finest quality, the top layer is made of soft flowing chiffon and the bottom is silk satin in a darker, deeper purple tone. The chiffon falls from below the gathered bust in an empire-line cut. It has an elegant short-sleeve, wide-neck top which is heavily embellished; purple sequins and iridescent bugle beads are scattered amongst flowers formed from beaded petals around a central lilac pearl. The beaded area is thickly lined for comfortable wear. The back of the dress is secured with a tonal purple zip and hook-and-eye clasp.

This dress is in excellent vintage condition with no flaws of any note to the cloth or beadwork. She is exceptionally well made with the embellishment hand-worked together with much of the finishing and the lining. It's such a pity this dress has lost its labels but this would have retailed in one of the finest department stores or couture salons of the day. It would be an excellent choice for a formal event, paired with gloves and decadent jewellery. Please note there's quite a big difference in the purple tone between our studio shots and the late summer's evening style shoot but the colour has definitely been captured better by the studio lighting; please refer to those shots for the colour.

The fabric has no stretch but the empire line affords the dress a good degree of flexibility on sizes up to a US 6-8 or UK 10-12 with slimmer arms on account of the armscyes, which are not very generous. Our model (5ft 4in / 163 cm) is a UK 6-8 or US 2-4 and this looked great on her with plenty of room to spare in the body. 

MEASUREMENTS

BUST - 36 in. (91 cm)

WAIST - 44 in. (112 cm)

HIP - 48 in. (122 cm)

LENGTH - 54 in. (137 cm)