Irving Penn (1917-2009), Vionnet Dress with Fan, 1977. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2010.

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted on aluminum, printed 1978 - signed, initialed, titled, dated, numbered '35/37', '1817', inscribed 'Merry Christmas with love to Pat 1979' in pencil, copyright credit reproduction limitation and edition stamps (on the reverse of the flush-mount) - 21 1/8 x 19 5/8in. (54 x 50.4cm.) - Estimate $30,000 - $50,000. Price Realised $47,500

"When I saw Diana Vreeland's show for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The 10s, 20s, 30s, I felt a thrill I had not as a fashion photographer known before. A luxurious clothes-world had once existed (and not so long at that), apparently without concern for cost, where it seemed no material was too expensive to use, no amount of labor too dear to employ, no designer's fantasy too extravagant to realize.

For personal pleasure, I wanted to study these clothes on the ground glass of a camera, and as a practical matter the thought of making a book of the resulting pictures came to mind." Irving Penn

Literature: Penn and Vreeland, Inventive Paris Clothes 1909-1939, The Viking Press, 1977, cover and p. 53; Szarkowski, Irving Penn, The Museum of Modern Art, 1984, pl. 123; Penn, Passage: A Work Record, Alfred A. Knopf Callaway, 1991, p. 215; Westerbeck, ed., Irving Penn: A Career in Photography, Art Institute of Chicago Little, Brown and Co., 1997, cat. no. 116, p. 183; Greenough, Irving Penn: Platinum Prints, National Gallery of Art Yale University Press, 2005, pl. 68

Notes: Diana Vreeland evokes Madeleine Vionnet in her text to accompany Mr Penn's pictures: 'Hers was the spirit of a great artist. "Remember," she said, "I never made fashions, I never saw fashion, I don't know what fashion is. I made the clothes I believed in." And that was true, for Vionnet was not a trend setter. No one ever copied her - because no one ever could.' (Inventive Paris Clothes, p. 36)

This image presents 'An ice-blue crepe-back satin dinner dress, bias cut, with draped surplice line at the back ending in bow and streamers. A very snappy dress, the back and the skirt are draped to the body. (1925-26)'

Irving Penn (1917-2009), Vionnet Lampshade Dress, 1977. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2010.

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted on aluminum, printed 1980 - signed, initialed, titled, dated, numbered '12/15' '2610' and inscribed 'For Pat, Christmas 1986' in pencil, Penn/Condé Nast copyright credit reproduction limitation and edition stamps (on the reverse of the flush-mount) - 15 x 14 7/8in. (39 x 38cm.) - Estimate $20,000 - $30,000 - Price Realised $25,000

Literature: Penn and Vreeland, Inventive Paris Clothes 1909-1939, The Viking Press, 1977, p. 40; Greenough, Irving Penn: Platinum Prints, National Gallery of Art Yale University Press, 2005, pl. 66

Notes: The caption in Inventive Paris Clothes notes that 'This evening dress is cut on the straight - rather unusual for Vionnet at that time. Made of oyster-white silk crepe, it is overlaid with a draped fringe that flows over the body and cascades down the side, giving a most alluring and chic touch. (1925)' (p. 41)

Irving Penn (1917-2009), Schiaparelli Jacket with Tinsel and Glass, 1974. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2010.

platinum-palladium print, flush-mounted on aluminum, printed 1979 - signed, initialed, titled, dated, numbered '1/25', '1827', inscribed 'Merry Christmas for Pat - souvenir of our book together. Christmas 1979' in pencil, copyright credit reproduction limitation and edition stamps (on the reverse of the flush-mount) - 19¾ x 18 3/8in. (50.5 x 47cm.) - Estimate $25,000 - $35,000. Price Realised 21,250

Literature: Penn and Vreeland, Inventive Paris Clothes 1909-1939, The Viking Press, 1977, p. 85; Szarkowski, Irving Penn, The Museum of Modern Art, 1984, pl. 119; Penn, Passage: A Work Record, Alfred A. Knopf Callaway, 1991, p. 214; Greenough, Irving Penn: Platinum Prints, National Gallery of Art Yale University Press, 2005, pl. 69

Notes: This image presents 'A delicious black silk velvet jacket, embroidered with gold and mirror glass - very rococo in design. The large motifs simulate antique hand mirrors. Schiaparelli complements the jacket and dinner dress with a small hat. (1939)'

Diana Vreeland notes that 'It was in her trimmings and motifs that Schiaparelli revealed her wonderful Italian sense of amusement.' (Inventive Paris Clothes, p. 82)

Irving Penn (1917-2009), Chanel Sequined Suit, New York, 1974. Photo: Christie's Images Ltd., 2010.

gelatin silver print, printed 1975-1976 - signed, initialed, titled, dated, numbered '13120' in ink, signed and inscribed 'To Pat, Merry Christmas with love' in pencil, copyright credit reproduction limitation and edition stamps (on the reverse of the mount); one of an edition of 40 - 15½ x 15¼in. (40 x 39.2cm.) - Estimate $25,000 - $35,000. Price Realised $17,500

Literature: Penn and Vreeland, Inventive Paris Clothes 1909-1939, The Viking Press, 1977, p.79; Irving Penn photographs in platinum metals - images 1947-1975, Marlborough Fine Art Ltd, 1977. p.2; Szarkowski, Irving Penn, The Museum of Modern Art, 1984, pl. 124; Foresta and Stapp, Irving Penn: Master Images, Smithsonian Institution Press, 1990, cat. no. 48, p. 61; Penn, Passage: A Work Record, Alfred A. Knopf Callaway, 1991, p. 212

Notes: This image presents 'Chanel's sleeveless pullover top, straight skirt, and cardigan jacket, all in shiny black paillettes. This three-piece evening costume has been copied in various fabrics for the last fifty years. To this day it remains "perfection." (1926)'

Diana Vreeland notes that 'It was Gabrielle Chanel who saw the great spirit of the twentieth century positively, and who showed modern, emancipated women how to dress.' (Inventive Paris Clothes, p. 74)

Christie's. Three Decades with Irving Penn: Photographs from the Collection of Patricia McCabe. 14 April 2010. New York, Rockefeller Plaza www.christies.com