The Shrimpton Couture Archives

This is a spectacular Chanel whose twin walked the Fall 1986 runway. Karl's first collection for Chanel was in 1983 which makes this a piece from one of his early collections. I was happy to be able to find reference photos of the twin of this dress on the runway that season. Bella Hadid famously wore a version as well in 2022.  It is an extraordinary example of the work that Karl was doing for Chanel during this time period.

I absolutely love the cut of this dress. It is made out of a beautiful deep blue netting mixed with a blue silk that has a gold metallic stripe running through it. This gives the dress the structure to hold the shape but still keeps it fairly light in weight once on the body. The bodice is strapless and the neckline is cut fairly straight across all around you with just a touch of a curve across the top. There is inner boning for support and the boning continues down the sides and to the low set seam to help hold the dress in place. The waist curves in a bit and then the skirt is set in just at the top of the hip. I love how this gives the illusion of extra length through the body. The entire bodice has been heavily gathered in horizontal, soft gathers, and I love how this contrasts with the gold stripes that are sat on an angle. The skirt is very long and full. It flows to the floor in a cascade of that beautiful deep blue netting. The top layer sits over an inner second layer of netting and then there is a inner silk layer under that. The bottom hem of the top layer is finished in a 12 inch band of the same silk used for the bodice. Doing this helps to hold the shape of the skirt and give it a pretty finish. The final touch is of course those incredible removable sleeves that you just slip on and wear high on the upper arm. They have stiffened tulle inside the part that puffs out which helps to hold that shape and then there is a more fitted sleeve attached that runs down the bottom of your arm. Each sleeve ends in a point to cover the top of your hand. It is incredibly hard to photo this on a dress form, so please take a moment to look at the photos on the runway as it really is the twin of that. The dress has a bit of a fantasy princess feel that I love. Excellent condition.

The bodice is lined in a deep blue silk and the skirt is lined as described above. It closes with a back set zipper underneath a row of gold medal buttons and embossed with the Chanel perfume bottle. There is an extra spare button sewn into the lining inside. The sleeves have tulle inside to help hold the shape and elastic on the upper arm and the lower cuff zips to close. The sleeves just slip onto the arm. Tagged a vintage Chanel 38.

Sleeves: each sleeve is approx 30" long. The elastic at the top will stretch to fit. 
Bust: 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Natural waist: 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam at top of hips: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips at inner lining: to 21.5"flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 13" from top of the bodice to the low seam
Total length: 52" from top of the bodice to hem with an entire second width of the lower 12" hem turned under

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Reference Photos: (1-2) Fall 1986 Chanel Runway.  /  (3-4) Bella Hadid in Fall 1986 Chanel, Cannes, 2022.

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