The story behind the US First Lady's Diane von Furstenberg dresses, dress 367, the wrap dress and how to expand a too tight, too small dress

Diane Furstenberg reinvented the wrap dress. 

Michele Obama wearing a wrap dress.

Diane

Diane von Furstenburg.


She was born to Jewish parents. Her mother survived Auschwitz and taught Diane that fear was not an option. Diane married a German prince and decide from the outset to have a career.

I have a rescued black dress whose label claims it is 100% silk. I was surprised to read that. The fabric was tough. It was very hard to cut. 

The label was cut in the middle. That usually means the dress is not to be sold in shops or online at full price because it is a sample, or seconds.

My dress with the Diane von Furstenberg label. Photo by Angela Lansbury.

The dress was much too small for me, but I liked the style. It had a zip down one side. So I decided to cut it down the back. 

I could wear it over a long black slip which would fill in the back, which in any case could be covered by a jacket or black cape blazer. To hold in the back, I used a wide black satin ribbon.

It was still loose at the top, at the back of the neck. It was liable to slip off my right shoulder. The solution would be two ties, or a hook and loop (Velcro) or hook and eye on a ribbon. Another possibility would be to add a criss-cross like shoelaces or a corset.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_von_F%C3%BCrstenberg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrap_dress


CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK from Chicago, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Official Website of Diane von Furstenberg

https://www.dvf.com/

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