Easy-to-Wear 1980s Hanae Mori Printed Leaf & Flower Blue Silk Caftan Dress w Wide Sleeves

This pretty printed silk caftan dress dates to the 1980s. The dress was made under the creative direction of Hanae Mori. Hanae was the first woman of Japanese descent to have presented on the Paris and New York runways and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official Haute Couture house to La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Her work is exceptional. Hanae Mori excelled at these beautiful prints that combined nature with elements of her home. The dress is made out of one of her custom designed prints screened onto feather light deep blue silk. There is a secondary large dot pattern woven into the blue parts of the silk. The silk is light in weight and easy to wear. Think the weight of a fine silk scarf in terms of weight and feel. The entire dress has been printed with that gorgeous flower and leaf design. I love the colour combination of the deep blue with the bright pops of colour that cover it. The neckline is rounded and finished with a red silk piping. It parts in a slit down the front with four silk covered buttons closing it. This lets you wear it open or closed. The shoulders have padding that are rounded so the shoulders feel soft but with some structure. If you wanted it softer you could easily remove them. The sleeves extend straight out from there and have a piping detail at each end and again just past the shoulders. They are extremely wide and are just over 26" around. I love the movement this creates around you as you move. The inside of each sleeve is lined in red silk which means when you move your arm you get that unexpected flash of colour. It is cut to have the feel of a caftan and it skims loosely over the body, gently widening out just a touch until it reaches the hem. The dress is cut to simply float over the body. It has a slit on one side at the hem and this adds to the movement it has once on the body. The slit is defined by red silk piping. The dress sits loose and easy over the body. If you did want to add shape, you could add a belt or sash around the waist and this would completely change the look of the dress. This is a dress that you slip on and feel completely comfortable when wearing it and yet it has as much drama and impact as you could ask for. It is a stunning example of her work and beautifully made. The dress is unlined through the body and slips over the head to wear. Each sleeve is lined in red silk. Four buttons at the neck as described above. It appears to have been worn very little at all. There is no size tag present. Please go by the measurements listed below. Excellent condition Sleeves: approximately 18" and they are 26" around the upper arm Shoulders: no true defined seam Bust: to 23" flat across from side seam to side seam Waist: to 21" flat across from side seam to side seam Hips:to 22" flat across from side seam to side seam Total length: 5 57" from top of shoulder to hem and the slit is 20.5" from the hem up. There is just under 1.5" turned under the hem. Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED Item# DD5671 All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.