Dress, 1953

Dior's "New Look" emphasized longer skirts, natural shoulders, a highlighted bust and a slim waist. This dress, made nearly five years after the look was introduced, epitomizes the new, feminine silhouette of the late 1940's and early 1950's.Born in Decatur, Illinois in 1897 Elizabeth Parke married Harvey S. Firestone Jr., son of Firestone Tire and Rubber Company founder Harvey S. Firestone, in 1921.Once described by a friend as, "the most luxurious woman in the history of luxury," Elizabeth Par…