Last week I enjoyed the ultimate mother-daughter trip – a fabulous long weekend of talking, eating, shopping, laughing and walking through the heart of Paris. Dinner cruising on the Seine, hotel balcony views of the Eiffel Tower, antique market-lined streets, unbelievably delicious croissants. Carrie and I had an amazing time together, and everything – really, everything – was so special.
What I didn’t expect was how much I would LOVE the time we spent at the Dior museum, La Galerie Dior. If you know me, you know I love a good textiles or needlework exhibit, and after watching the Apple TV+ series, The New Look, about Christian Dior and the beginnings of the House of Dior, I definitely wanted to see Dior designs up close. As the museum website describes, “La Galerie Dior is a museum that showcases the history and spirit of Parisian haute couture and the house of Dior.” It also holds visions of beauty and brillance. Stunning creativity.
Christian Dior made a fashion statement in his 1947 legendary first collection, “La Ligne Corolle” (The Flower Line), with a silk jacket & pleated wool skirt ensemble called the “Bar” Suit. It was one of the most popular models in that first collection and was dubbed by the press as “The New Look”, a name that captured the enthusiasm of the moment and endured. As you step into the collections featured in La Galerie Dior, it’s the first look you see.
In a February 2020 Vogue Runway article, “Dior’s Bar Jacket: a Brief History”, Tiziana Cardini explains the impact of this iconic suit in Dior’s first collection. “With its hourglass-y line, Christian Dior provided women with the ammunition to assert their powers of seduction, and gave the gloomy postwar era a new joie de vivre. The Bar triggered a fashion revolution only rivaled in the 20th century by Mary Quant’s launch of the mini skirt. But this new look wasn’t only a moment for the history books, it’s also an enduring legacy, a style template to be reckoned with by all the creative directors who have followed the house founder at Dior – and far beyond.”
Share my visit to La Galerie Dior!
Before you begin exploring the museum’s two upper floors of imaginative exhibit areas filled with explosions of color and wonderful themes, you encounter a curved staircase surrounded by a rainbow of encased floor-to-ceiling accessories and miniature Dior designs. It catches your breath, and like everyone else, you have to take a photo!
Then it’s up the elevator to the third floor where the Bar suit mannequin invites you to weave through rooms of beautiful dresses, exquisite gowns, and oh so chic accessories. Even the feathered gown worn by Lady Gaga at the 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony only weeks ago! Just when you think you’ve found your favorite garment, the next one around the corner steals your heart. Oh, to have a chance to wear such beauty!
“Due to their fragility, exhibits are displayed in low light, at a low temperature. In order to preserve them, please do not touch them and do not use a flash when taking photographs.” Here are photos of some of my favorites.
There’s no way I could describe every dress or come close to doing justice to La Galerie Dior‘s magnificent exhibits. All I can say is if you’re ever in Paris, you must visit La Galerie Dior. You’ll be SO glad you did. One of my favorite trip souvenirs? A fashion sketch bookmark to remind me of my wonderful afternoon at the museum with Carrie.
Thank you for the wonderful tour, Sally. I know that you were in heaven! I enjoyed my experience – even if it was only on paper!
You would really enjoy seeing it in person!