Always fashionable, my god-mother {my mother's sister} had a fashion connection, as her husband worked in "the trade" and it was she who sent me a Christian Dior nightgown and robe one year for my birthday when I was 14.
It is no understatement to say that I felt impossibly grown-up and sophisticated! {ha! seriously far from the truth.}
Fashion has always intrigued me, and I was so honored to be asked to preview this glorious book DIOR AND HIS DECORATORS: Victor Grandpierre, Georges Geffroy, and the New Look written by Maureen Footer, who is an expert in French decorative arts and an acclaimed design historian.
Eloquently written and beautifully illustrated, the book recounts the evolution of Dior’s aesthetic as a fashion revolutionary and an aficionado of interior design via his personal residences, his couture house, and the Dior brand.
The book is not only visual eye candy for us fashionistas, it illustrates how Christian Dior and his talented decorators transformed war-torn Postwar France, and then the world.
Christian Dior’s luxurious New Look, launched in 1947, captivated a war-weary world with exactly the glamour, beauty and sense of romance it was hungry for.
Drawing from the same inspiration as Dior, interior designers in Paris mixed the refined classic traditions of the past with a modern sense of elegance to create a New Look in interiors.
Christian Dior
Christian Dior is still recognized today as an iconic designer and ultimate luxury fashion brand. {Always at the forefront of all that is the height of fashion, the Paris Fashion Week show of Dior this week was amazing!} Just like his fashion designs, his interiors were luxurious and breath-taking. Dior hired his friends fashion photographer Victor Grandpierre and silent film set designer Georges Geffroy to create chic, worldly interiors for all his residences. The book also shows the work of both Grandpierre and Geffroy for other design clients.
Just as Dior defined New Look fashion, his Paris townhouse epitomized New Look decoration, it was a succès fou {translates into crazy success.}
Victor Grandpierre also designed Dior’s first couture salon, with its elegant restrained looks, and the face of the Dior brand, the logo and packaging, which is still used today.
Maureen Footer has captured the story of DIOR & HIS DECORATORS with such beautiful detail and insightful commentary. The images and history of Christian Dior's career and his two decorator friends are wonderfully intertwined. It's also the story of a time in France's history, and the friendship of the three men.
I love decorating books, what makes this one a favorite is that it has much more...there is so much history and detail here, it's so well researched.
It is a book to enjoy for the stunning photos of fashion and interiors, of course, but it is also a book that is a GREAT READ.
It's a reminder that fashion and interiors can be beautiful, tell a personal story and be timeless.
Maureen Footer's stylish and chic New York City Apartment was featured in the current VERANDA magazine. It's every bit as gorgeous as you would expect it to be!
Photo credit of the ever chic author: Maureen's Instagram
- Make independent design choices. Inform your eye by looking, but never copying. Striking originality, be it in Dior’s New Look, Geffroy’s or Grandpierre’s posh interiors, stems from being true to a personal point of view.
- Be curious about the world around you. Without curiosity design can’t move forward, and it certainly can’t capture its time. Learn from the past, incorporate the present. Interiors will be rich, resonate, and connect the occupant to a larger spectrum.
- Remember that a home should be a haven. A living space should welcome and embrace its owner and nurture the soul. Upholstered walls create soft spaces; fabrics that feel good are welcoming; color creates mood. Reach for quality whenever you can.
- Incorporate antiques. Not only are antiques beautiful, they connect us to our past and remind us of who we are. They are like family photos on our desktop.
- For a little zip, reach for tiger silk velvet and a glass of Champagne!
For extra credit, follow me on Instagram HERE > {you do, already, don't you?!}
Since we are in Europe on our antiques buying trip, I will choose a winner randomly when we return. The winner will be announced on October 10th, and the publisher will mail that lucky one a book!
So easy. Love it!
You can ORDER THE BOOK HERE
And you will want to follow MAUREEN FOOTER on instagram HERE
I am so grateful that the publisher chose FrenchGardenHouse to review this gorgeous book, and that one of you, dearest readers, will be winning a copy too!
I received my advance copy, and can't wait to return from Europe to read it from cover to cover.
Ps. for my dear clients...FrenchGardenHouse is open, and your orders from today forward will commence shipping after Oct. 8th. Merci!
All images for this review were provided by and are courtesy of Vendome Press.
à bientôt
Shop for the best in French Antiques, furniture with the patina of age, vintage accessories to delight you and your family & friends, and French Country utilitarian pieces. Treasures that make your home fresh, beautiful, inspirational and uniquely yours. Visit our shop FrenchGardenHouse.com
45 comments
Looks a wonderful book, very chic and inspirational. Absolutely love French design and would love the chance to win this book. Thanks for sharing. I follow you on Instagram, hence bringing me to your blog :)
Such a beautiful book. I would love to win a copy. I was a small girl during the 50’s and I remember my mother looking at all the fashion magazines. She was not able to afford Dior’s so she would purchase patterns from Vogue’s designer collection and make the dresses for herself. She loved fashion especially French designers.
Following you on Instagram now too. =)
What a stunning book. Thank you for the opportunity to win.
Alice, that is really such a special thing, isn’t it, to have a Mom who sewed? My Mom was a single Mom, and she made all our clothes when I was growing up, too!
Your blog is just so beautiful. I love reading it and I love your style to no end!
Oh. My. Gosh! The photos you show take my breath away! How exquisite!
What a beautiful book to share with us Lidy! Thanks!
That looks like a marvelous book! Thank you for the chance to win a copy. I follow you on Instagram and facebook xo.
I really NEED this book for my collection of design
books. This is a must for my coffee table for me to
enjoy every.single.day!