SKU: 40217340839
vintage dress for party

vintage dress for party Rare Vintage 1950s Helen Rose Silk Party Dress

Sale price$20.39 Regular price$22.66
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vintage dress for party Rare Vintage 1950s Helen Rose Silk Party DressThis rare vintage 1950s Helen Rose silk party dress is not only the most joyous confection, but a very important piece of fashion history. Helen Rose was an important figure in both fashion and Hollywood from the 1940s, through the 1960s and beyond. An Academy Award winning costume designer, she worked with young starlets like Elizabeth Taylor while working at movie studio MGM. She was known for her fashion forward approach, making a name for herself

This rare vintage 1950s Helen Rose silk party dress is not only the most joyous confection, but a very important piece of fashion history. 

Helen Rose was an important figure in both fashion and Hollywood from the 1940s, through the 1960s and beyond. An Academy Award-winning costume designer, she worked with young starlets like Elizabeth Taylor while working at movie studio MGM. She was known for her fashion-forward approach, making a name for herself by veering from precise historical accuracy in period pieces. She began producing garments inspired by her designs for the screen, and they quickly became highly-sought-after by her Hollywood clientele. Rose became the premier bridal designer of the time— she designed Elizabeth Taylor's wedding dress for her first wedding in 1950, as well as 

Grace Kelly's wedding dress for her marriage to Prince Rainier of Monaco— see images below. (Elizabeth Taylor's Helen Rose dress was auctioned for

$188,000 in 2013.)

Made in the late 1950s, this dress was designed by Helen Rose and retailed at JW Robinson. The emerald green rich silk is so lush— we rarely see fabric of this quality today. The ruched drop-waist bodice, together with the full pleated skirt and open neckline creates a flattering hourglass shape. I love the way the gathering at the shoulders creates little cap sleeves. But, the draped bow detail steals the show! It's so well done, and adds a unique movement to the dress. It features a silk-chiffon lining in the skirt. Note that the exact fiber contents are not listed

Measurements: PLEASE NOTE that this dress previously was let out in the bodice, so these measurements reflect the dress's current state, although it would be very easy to take it back in following the original seam line. It can be taken in on each side by .75" and at the back zipper by up to about 1" for a total of about 2.5", just following those existing seam lines. (You could obviously take it in more, too.) It is shown clipped on a size X-Small to simulate a proper fit; as-is, it will best fit a size Small and Medium but please refer to below measurements to be sure.

Chest: 36" laid flat (some extra room if needed thanks to gathering)

Waist: 28"

Hips are open

Length: 40.5" from shoulder to hem (can be let out by 4.5" if needed)

Good vintage condition overall; the fabric exhibits some fading in small areas but because of the nature of the silk and its sheen, it's really not noticeable when worn, and doesn't pick up in photos at all. With any questions about the specific condition or size, please email [email protected] for additional photos or measurements, as all sales are final.

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Elizabeth Taylor wore a Helen Rose wedding gown to her 1950s wedding to Conrad "Nicky" Hilton.

Grace Kelly wore a Helen Rose gown to her 1956 wedding to Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

 

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SKU: 40217340839

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TH
Lexington, US
★★★★★ 5
The destruction of racism
Format: Paperback
This is a very open and candid view of racism in the early 19th century
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Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2026
B
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Benguet Bill
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
good read
Format: Paperback
classic work on imperialism
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Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2026
A
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A. Kassahun
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 5
Must read book on African colonial sociology and politics
Fanon describes the character of (European) colonialists, the colonised Africans (the "masses" - rural and urban, the elites, the nationalists, the tribalists) wonderfully. The book is wonderfully written - Fanon must have been a good writer. Fanon is a psychiatrist, and worked in Algeria as psychiatrist, but he many have travelled other African countries too. His book shows his deep knowledge of both African and European sociology, psychology and politics. The book is still relevant; his analysis as to what will happen after the liberation of African countries is amazingly valid. He is in a way one of the most important African (though he is born in Latin America) sociologist and political scientist. Fanon's book starts on "violence", he doesn't shy away from prescribing violence in the struggle for liberation. Some find Fanon advocating violence, but that is not the case. He puts in perspective the violence perpetrated by colonists against the resulting reaction that culminates in the violence of the colonised. His clear analysis demystifies the violence that still grips Africa. Unfortunately Fanon seems to put all European in Africa as colonists. Many cases from South Africa show that that should not be the case. But his views may be due to the brutal repression he has to witness and experience in Algeria by the French government and French citizens there.
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Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2010
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Roman P.
Boise, US
★★★★★ 5
Colonialism not dead yet
This is a review of the 2004 Grove paperback edition of Frantz Fanon’s The Wretched of the Earth The Wretched of the Earth is the most famous work of Algerian revolutionary Franz Fanon (1925-1961) finished and published shortly before his death (he died of leukemia). Fanon is known above all as a theorist of revolutionary violence and a champion of its therapeutic good for the oppressed. However, this book is not about armed struggle only; it covers many other topics: theory of class conflict in colonies, revolutionary process and subjects of social change in the Third World, the future of new independent states (former colonies), strategies of building Third World—First World relations in a right way, the relationship between the struggle for national culture and national liberation struggles, consequences of colonialism for both the colonizer and the colonized, etc. It’s a book of an angry man; the author's revolutionary pathos and standing with the oppressed (‘the wretched of the earth’) are noticeable. Though Fanon wrote his book drawing on the experience of the Africa of the 1950s an acute reader can easily notice similarities and parallels with what’s going on in the underdeveloped countries all over the world. The book can be of particular use for anthropologists, historians, philosophers, sociologists, as well as for those interested in cultural studies. I prefer Richard Philcox’s translation to the one published in 1963. Citizens of the global South can skip Jean-Paul Sartre’s preface; let the author speak for himself.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 17, 2019
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R. Schwenk
Fort Morgan, US
★★★★★ 4
Influential and Insightful
Frantz Fanon's The Wretched of the Earth is an important document in the history of imperialism capturing the state of the Algerian revolution and the struggle for independence in the Third World at a crucial time. The year was 1961, and the book was published just before Fanon's premature death. Algeria was a year away from independence. The Congo had just achieved a travesty of independence. The Cuban revolution was still fresh. Fanon was born in Martinique but was fully committed to the Algerian cause by the end of his life. His insights into the pitfalls threatening newly-independent nations have proved to be uncannily accurate. His voice is of his time and ahead of his time. I would recommend this book to those wanting to learn more about the Algerian War and to those curious about the huge effect of this book on the leftists of the 1960s.
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Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2013

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