The New Look

On February 12, 1947, Christian Dior showed his first collection in Paris, and the fashion world was stunned: after years of wartime rationing, here were nipped-in waists, soft shoulders and full, swirling skirts that used yards of fabric. The editor of Harper's Bazaar, Carmel Snow, called it a New Look, and the name stuck. A Dior-inspired rug borrows the house's elegant, romantic language for the floor: a quilted cane-weave lattice, soft dove gray with white moldings, toile de Jouy scenes, sprigs of lily of the valley and a scatter of lucky stars. Ours are printed into short velvet and go in the washing machine. To be clear from the start: these are independent designs inspired by the style, not Dior products, and they don't use the brand's logos or monogram.

Dior-inspired designs

Design	The look	Best in
Cane weave	A quilted lattice like woven chair caning	Closets, vanities
Dove gray	Soft gray with white Parisian moldings	Bedrooms, living rooms
Toile de Jouy	Pastoral scenes in one color on cream	Bedrooms, dressing rooms
Lily of the valley	Delicate white bells on green stems	Bridal suites, nurseries
Lucky stars	Small gold stars scattered on navy or gray	Teen rooms, vanities
Fashion sketch	Watercolor 1940s silhouettes	Studios, boutiques

The cane weave is the most recognizable choice and suits a walk-in closet or a vanity, while dove gray works with almost any bedroom.

The designer

Christian Dior was born in 1905 in Granville, a seaside town in Normandy, where his family's pink villa sat above a garden full of roses. He worked as a gallery owner and a fashion illustrator before opening his own house at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris in 1946. In only ten years, until his sudden death in 1957, he became the most famous couturier in the world, and his house was later led by a line of celebrated designers, starting with a very young Yves Saint Laurent.

The Bar suit

The most famous look from that first collection paired a fitted cream silk jacket, padded softly at the hips, with a full, pleated black skirt. It became the symbol of postwar elegance. A rug in blocks of cream and black, with a soft curve echoing a cinched waist, is a graphic, fashion-forward nod for a dressing room or a studio.

A sister and a perfume

The house's first perfume, launched in 1947, was named for Dior's younger sister Catherine, who had served in the French Resistance during the war and survived imprisonment in a concentration camp. She later grew flowers for the perfume industry in Provence. A floral rug of roses and jasmine is a gentle tribute to her and to the gardens that shaped the family.

Parisian apartments

In a classic Paris-style apartment, with herringbone parquet, tall windows and plaster moldings, a dove-gray medallion or cane-weave rug looks completely at home. It also brings a little of that Haussmann elegance to an American apartment with simple white walls.

Pairing with furniture

These designs look best with Louis XVI-style chairs, a gilded mirror, white or gray upholstery, crystal and fresh flowers. Keep the palette soft, gray, cream and one blush accent, for an effortlessly Parisian room.

The cane weave

At his first show, guests sat on gilded Napoleon III chairs with woven cane seats, and that crisscross pattern became one of the house's signatures, stitched into quilted bags. A cane-weave rug, a soft, quilted lattice of diagonal lines in dove gray, black or blush, is an elegant, subtle design for a walk-in closet or a vanity corner. It's printed velvet, with the look of quilting rather than padding, so it's easy to vacuum and wash.

Dove gray

Dior loved a pale, soft gray, set off with white Louis XVI-style moldings, and he used it throughout his boutique. A dove-gray rug with a white molded border, or a classic medallion in gray and cream, is a calm, Parisian choice for a bedroom or a living room, and it pairs beautifully with white furniture, brass and fresh flowers.

Toile de Jouy

The walls of his original boutique were covered in toile de Jouy, the French printed cotton of pastoral scenes in a single color, and the house has returned to it again and again. A toile rug in soft gray, navy or blush on cream is a romantic design for a bedroom or a dressing room. For more, see our toile rugs.

Lily of the valley

Lily of the valley was Dior's lucky flower; he wore a sprig in his buttonhole and is said to have had it sewn into the hems of his dresses. A rug with delicate white bells on slender green stems is a fresh, romantic design for a bridal suite, a bedroom or a nursery. For more flowers, see our flower rugs.

A lucky star

Dior was famously superstitious. The story goes that in 1946, still undecided about starting his own house, he tripped over a small metal star lying in a Paris street and took it as a sign. A rug of small gold stars scattered on navy or dove gray is a sweet, lucky design for a teen's room, a vanity or a brand-new home.

Gardens and roses

The garden of his childhood home in Granville, now a museum dedicated to him, inspired a lifelong love of flowers. A soft garden rug of roses and climbing vines in pink and green, like an old Normandy garden, is a lovely, feminine design for a bedroom or a sunroom.

Fashion sketches

A watercolor rug of 1940s fashion sketches, cinched waists, wide skirts, gloves and little hats in loose, elegant strokes, is a stylish design for a fashion student's room, a design studio or a boutique fitting room.

Walk-in closets and dressing rooms

A cane-weave or dove-gray rug under a closet island makes a walk-in closet feel like a Paris salon. A 3.3×5 or 4×6 ft rug suits most closets. Choose Premium, 7 mm plush velvet on a bamboo and cotton back, about 700 g/m², for the softest feel underfoot.

Vanities

In front of a vanity, a small cane-weave or lucky-star rug finishes a glamorous beauty corner. Under a vanity chair with wheels, choose Standard, 5 mm crushed velvet on a non-slip faux leather back, about 500 g/m², which stays put.

Bedrooms

In a bedroom, a toile or garden rug at the foot of the bed pairs with white linen, a gray upholstered headboard and crystal lamps. Our bedroom rugs page has more layouts.

Bridal suites

For a bride getting ready, or a newlywed couple's first home, a lily-of-the-valley rug is a meaningful, romantic touch, the flower long associated with happiness and spring weddings.

Boutiques and salons

For bridal boutiques, fashion stores and beauty salons, a dove-gray or cane-weave rug at the fitting area adds instant Parisian polish. Standard holds up best to busy foot traffic, and it goes in the washing machine. Our office and studio rugs page has more ideas.

Entryways

Just inside the front door, a dove-gray medallion rug is an elegant, calm welcome. Keep it indoors, out of the weather, and choose Standard for its grip on tile and hardwood.

Colors

Dior-inspired designs look best in dove gray, white, cream, soft blush and navy, with touches of gold for stars and green for lily of the valley.

Other designer-inspired rugs

For more fashion houses, see our Chanel-inspired, Hermès-inspired, Fendi-inspired, Louis Vuitton-inspired and Gucci-inspired rugs, and the whole range in our hypebeast and streetwear rugs.

Gifts

A Dior-inspired rug makes an elegant gift for a fashion lover, a bride or a friend moving into a new apartment. A cane-weave rug is the most versatile; lily of the valley is the most romantic and the luckiest.

Your own design

Want your initials in a dove-gray medallion, a cane weave in your closet's colors or a star with your wedding date? Our custom rugs can print it in any size up to 5′11″ × 10′, or as a round rug. Please only send artwork you're allowed to use, which rules out brand logos and monograms you don't own. Custom rugs are made just for you and can't be returned.

Sizes, shipping and returns

Rectangles come in 2×3, 2.6×3.9, 3.3×5, 4×6 and 5×7 ft, and round rugs from 2.6 to 5.9 ft (80 to 180 cm) across. Custom sizes go up to 5′11″ × 10′. Every rug is printed to order in 1–3 business days and ships from Turkey; US delivery usually takes 2–5 business days after that. Unused rugs can be returned within 30 days on US orders; custom rugs can't be returned.

Care

Machine wash on a gentle, cold cycle and let it air dry flat. Vacuum on a low setting between washes, and blot spills with cold water right away. The design is printed into the fibers, so the soft grays stay calm, wash after wash.

A note on the brand

Granville and the pink villa

Christian Dior grew up in Granville, a seaside town in Normandy, in a pink-and-gray villa called Les Rhumbs, perched on a cliff above the English Channel. His mother, Madeleine, filled its garden with roses and flowers, and he later said that the house and its garden shaped his love of flowers, color and elegance. Today the villa is the Musée Christian Dior, and its cliff-top garden is open to visitors.

Later in life he bought a château in Provence, La Colle Noire, near the perfume town of Grasse, where he planted roses and jasmine. Both homes speak to the same idea: fashion as a garden, soft, feminine and full of bloom.

That story inspires gentle rugs: a pale pink villa facade with a rose garden in front, a pattern of Normandy roses on dove gray, or a seaside scene of cliffs and garden paths in soft pinks and grays. They suit a dressing room, a bedroom with a vintage vanity or a sitting room with a view, and they feel more personal than a logo ever could.

Pair them with fresh flowers in a glass vase, gray velvet and light wood, and the room takes on the calm grace of the Granville garden.

Padrift is an independent studio. Dior and Christian Dior are named only to describe the style and history our designs are inspired by. We are not affiliated with, sponsored or endorsed by Christian Dior, and these rugs are not genuine Dior products.