Severin Freres

Original 1930s haute couture gold lame evening dress, in fabulous condition for its age. It features a crossover front with tie waist detail, and a keyhole cutout back. The fabric is a stunning burnished gold lame, almost champagne in colour, with a distinctly art deco pattern of soft foliage - quite fan or shell like in places. The skirt is slightly pleated to create movement, and the waistband features a sash which wraps around and fastens at the hip with a hook and eye closure. Complete with original label (incredibly rare for an item from this era), the dress was made by Belgian couturier Severin Freres, who would later make clothes for Princess Lilian of Belgium - indeed, the label itself reads, in French, "couturiers to her Majesty the Queen". It has certainly been made to the highest possible couture standards and would be a showstopping piece for a party, black tie event, or even as a highly unique wedding dress.

This garment is in wonderful vintage condition, with no underarm marks, tears or stains. Due to the nature of the metal in the fabric, it has tarnished evenly over time to a slightly cooler gold colour, almost silver - which is just as striking, especially in warm light. It would best fit up to a UK 8-10 or US 4-6. Our model is a UK 6-8 and is 5ft 4in (163cm) and this dress was a great fit on her.

MEASUREMENTS:

BUST: 32 in. (81.28 cm)
WAIST: 30 in. (76.2 cm)
HIP: 34 in. (86.36 cm)
LENGTH: 54 in. (137.16 cm)