Dior Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2011: Romance, 1950s Glamour Reigns (PHOTOS, POLL)

Haute Couture season kicked off in Paris on Monday morning with a romantic, 1950s-inspired collection sent strutting by John Galliano for Christian Dior. Suzy Menkes called the offerings "strictly haughty, never naughty and was too centered on fancy gowns to seem like Mr. Galliano at his most frisky," and gave some background info, like:

The designer was inspired by René Gruau, the fashion illustrator for whom the line of a spine, the tilt of a hat and the flow of fabric was enough to create in a few strokes an indelible image of Dior.

[....]

The photography of Irving Penn was in the mix. So the idea was to bring to life both black-and-white photographs and drawn images through "pen strokes" of beading and layers of gray and black tulle, creating a poetic chiaroscuro effect.

Call us simple Style editors, but we were sufficiently enamored with the gowns, Karlie Kloss' painted-on red eyebrows and Galliano's new shag 'do.

Take a look and tell us what you think.