• This dress is from the Spring 1976 Collection
• It was made under the creative direction of Roy Halston.
• These front tie dresses are one of the most iconic signature pieces from Halston. It was heavily documented that season and remains one of the most beloved silhouettes of all the pieces he designed.
• Halston created several of these dresses in different colours that season. They tended to be mainly produced in a bias cut silk or a hammered bias cut silk and rarely in velvet. Even the silk versions are hard to find now and finding one in a black velvet is very rare.
• It is said that before even putting scissors to fabric, Halston already had a mental image of how he wanted to dress to look. He believed that evening pieces should be as easy-to-wear and comfortable as day wear but absolutely elegant at the same time. When these dresses were shown for the first time in 1976 the press dubbed them as being "clean and and yet still with sex appeal".
• This is from the main Halston label and these were pieces were custom-made or made to order at this point in the brands history.
  
• The dress is strapless and ties at the front of the bust. This creates a little discreet keyhole under the tie. It also allows you to adjust the fit by how loose or tight you tie it.
• The cut is very forgiving as it skims over the bust, comes in slightly at the waist. and then curves back out over the hips. It is not meant to be super fitted. This is a dress that is very easy to fit. On a smaller frame it drapes more and the bias cut will allow it to move to accommodate if you need more room.
• From there it continues to skim over the body all the way to the hem widening out slightly as it nears the floor.
• The seaming is all set on an angled curve that wraps around the body. This means the entire dress is made out of one piece of black velvet. Do not underestimate its simplicity. Creating the dress in this way is actually quite complex and a technical challenge. Without seaming at the sides, the shape of the dress completely relies on the way it drapes, making it a much more difficult task and complex problem to have it fall over the body as perfectly as it does.
• Personally, I think this might be one of the most iconic little black dresses to have ever been created. It's a highly collectible piece for the Halston collector. 
• The dress is fully lined in a black silk and slips on to wear with a tie at the front that you can adjust for fit. I see slight change in the pile of the velvet where it ties at the front from being tied. This is a natural occurrence and is not considered a flaw but mentioned for accuracy.
• There is no size tag present so please go by the measurements listed below
• Excellent condition

Bust: approx 17-19.5" flat across from side seam to side seam with the ability to adjust the size at the front because of the tie
Waist: 15-21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18-24" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 56" from top of bodice to hem with approx 2.5" turned under the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG

Item# DD5596

Reference Photos: (1) ‘The Strapless’ in Women’s Wear Daily, August 1976. / (2) ‘The New York Collections: Easy Winners!’, Jacques Malignon for Vogue, September 1976. / (3) ‘Your Night to Star’, Ladies Home Journal, December 1976. / (4) Elizabeth Taylor in Halston at the 1976 Oscars. / (5) Marisa Berenson in Halston, Vogue 1976. Photo by Richard Avedon. / (6) "Yves Saint Laurent + Halston. Fashioning the 70s" Exhibit at the Museum at FIT, 2015. / (7) Halston's original sketch for the tie-front strapless dress & Lee Radziwell, 1976.  / (8) Rachel Zoe in Halston at the Zoe Report Dinner, 2014.  /  (9-10) Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture.  /  (11-13) Spring 1976 Halston Runway.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

• The dress is from 1977 and was most likely a made to order custom or bridal piece.
• It was made under the creative direction of Roy Halston
  
• When researching we found the examples shared here that are almost identical to this dress but without the extra added panels that create the spiralling ruffles.
• This is a beautiful ivory dress that showcases the minimal seaming that Halston was so famous for.
• The dress is made of a heavier weighted silk charmeuse that is cut like the reference photos show through the body but with added panels and seams that go around and cascade down the lower skirting.
• It is completely cut on the bias so it drapes phenomenally over the body. You simply slip it over your head and it drapes over you to accommodate the body underneath. This makes it easy to fit and very easy to wear.
• The sleeves are long and extend out directly from the body of the dress with no seaming around the arm. Each narrows to its cuff where there is a handmade silk covered button and loop.
• The neckline is cut wide across the neckline and has a subtle draping at the centre of the neck at both the front and back of the dress. It is a very pretty detail.
• It glides over the body skimming over the bust, waist and hips to the floor. The vertical ruffles are set on an angle so that they cascade down to the hem. When you move these swirl around the lower part of the dress and create gorgeous movement around you.
• Working with this fabric is incredibly difficult and it is a testament to his skill to create such a seemingly simple but complex pattern.
• The dress is fully lined in a second layer of the same fabric which adds to the technically difficultly of the pattern and rich feel of the silk. It has no closures and slips on to wear. Each cuff has a silk covered button and loop to close.
• There is no size tag and the bias cut will allow it to have it some give. Please go by the range of measurements listed below. The colour is slightly more ivory in person. I see some minor marks and scuffing here and there on the silk of the bottom ruffles. I shot one so that you can see. It is very minor but mentioned for accuracy. The length may come up once on because of the bias cut.
• Excellent condition.

Sleeves: approx 23.5" and are 16" around the upper arm
Shoulders: no defined seam
Bust: 18-22" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15-21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19-25" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: approx 62" from top of shoulder to hem. 

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD5201

Reference Photos: (1) Spring 1977 Halston.  /  (2) Fall 1977 Halston.  /  (3) From the book "Halston: An American Original"

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.