Part of the fun of writing up a piece on Christian Dior Couture is the chance to showcase a photo yet another of the fabulous designs of John Galliano. As WWD reported last month, haute couture is hot right now, bearing out the trend that while mid-level luxury is faltering, all is well at the top of the market. Now Christian DIor Couture backs that up with the news that first half sales increased 5 percent at constant exchange rates to 366 million euros, or $560.2 million. Dior released a statement saying that they are strong in China, Russia, and the Middle East as well as Europe. The couture news was released with results for Christian Dior Group, the parent of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior Couture which showed that the revenues at the holding company rose 11 percent at constant exchange to 8.15 billion euros, or $12.48 billion but the group share of net profit dipped 1.7 percent to 352 million euros or $538.8 million. Looks like they'll be turning out these pretty dresses for a long time to come.

The name of a product is an important indicator in predicting it's success, take the cleverly named Gucci Hysteria Purse that lived up to its title quite nicely by causing shopping madness. I'm crazy about the new Extreme Cutout Sandals by Christian Dior. However after staring at them for awhile I've realized I don't actually like them, per se, then it hit me, I 've been duped by some marketing gurus into thinking I like them based on their awesome name ( I'm a sucker for all things "extreme"). Oh well! These extreme-ly high (almost 5 inches) and equally sexy sandals kick off the summer shoe shopping season with a bang. Available in silver or black Nappa leather, they feature and open peep toe and trendy stud detailing. Available for $780 at Neimans!

The always charming Blake Lively from the hit series Gossip Girl had her work cut out for her at a recent Vanity Fair photo shoot. Her day included prancing around in a 33-pound Christian Dior gown! The yellow satin gown dazzled with Swarovski crystals detailing, 6,000 sequins (I counted), and detailed hand stitching. Lively, always a star, rose to the occasion and truly owned the dress, the photos are effortless and pretty. I wonder how much a gown like that would cost, any guesses?