OSCAR WINNER!

Antonio Castillo was born of a noble Spanish family, went on to work at The House of Lanvin in 1950, was nominated for a Tony in 1959 for the musical Goldilocks (Elaine Stritch was in the show!); and won an Oscar for Costume Design in 1972 for Nicholas and Alexandra. That's an impressive resume in my book. The dress below is a heavy navy silk and cream strapless cocktail dress from 1955 when women wore an evening dress to the theatre, as opposed to today, when a Broadway show is made up of an audience in board shorts and hoodies! I particularly love the color combo (navy and white always looks right) and the way the sashes wrap around the bust and then fold over the hip and hang to practically the length of the skirt with a fringe scarf edge just like a theatre producer would wear over his tux on opening night.

This dress is in rather extraordinary condition considering it is 55 years old. I am the biggest fan of what Alber Elbaz does for Lanvin today (and my favorite new article of clothing is the Lanvin for H&M cream tux that I've worn three times). No matter which designer has been behind the House of Lanvin the creations are always desirable decade after decade.
-Cameron Silver




Castillo for Lanvin navy and white satin evening dress, 1955. Modern 4 to narrow 6
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