Dior’s New (England) Look

Abstract

Much has been written about Christian Dior’s debut haute couture collection and its Corolle silhouette, unveiled on February 12, 1947. Famously dubbed the “New Look” by longtime, influential Harper’s Bazaar editor Carmel Snow, Corolle crystallized immediate post-war women’s fashion. This article focuses on the introduction and dissemination of that line into daywear styles sold and worn in the northeastern United States. It took over a year for Corolle-inspired clothing to make its way into New England in any significant way. Marketing efforts linked concrete design elements to an abstract and gender-appropriate hyper-femininity. Consumer reactions focused on the practicality of adopting the new design elements, without any reference to post-war economic hardship, as is often cited in other discussions of the Corolle line. This work also argues for the origins of the New Look term as a colloquial expression in use before Carmel Snow’s much attributed descriptor. By revisiting this seminal moment in French haute couture through the lens of New England inhabitants, a more nuanced understanding emerges between the U.S. and its relationship to French haute couture during the mid-twentieth century.

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