Early 1970s Bill Blass Couture Hand Beaded Lion Print Dress w Elaborate Feather Collar designer-ruben-panis From the Fall 1999 collection

From the Fall 1999 collection and Its twin walked the runway

The dress is fully lined in a black silk through the bodice and has built in boning to hold it in place around you

5" at top and narrows to 10" at bottom

An American Original' they talk about Halston's cashmere pieces and quote Polly Mellen as saying: "His cashmere pieces to the floor

I have had this Frank Usher tucked away for a long time because it is so amazing it was hard to let go

Early 1970s Bill Blass Couture Hand Beaded Lion Print Dress w Elaborate Feather Collar designer-ruben-panis From the Fall 1999 collectionBill Blass launched his label in 1970 when he bought out the Maurice Rentner label and re launched it under his own name. This has a similar feel to a dress I had in the shop a few years back that dated to 1971 and I suspect that this is from that same time period. Blass was arguably one of the most famous of the American designers. His forte was the ability to mix simple styles with unexpected materials in way that was very flattering to the wearer.