A cocktail dress is a dress suitable at

semi-formal Semi-formal wear or half dress is a grouping of dress codes indicating the sort of clothes worn to events with a level of formality between informal wear and formal wear. In the modern era, the typical interpretation for men is black tie for e ...

occasions, sometimes called

cocktail parties A cocktail party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception. A cocktail party organized for purposes of social or business networking is called a mixer. A cocktail hour is sometimes used by manag ...

, usually in the late afternoon, and usually with accessories. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the idea of the "working woman" became popular. After 1929, it was more common to see women in a social context. With the help of liberation organizations, the idea of a "modern woman" began to rise, and soon the "drinking woman" could be seen in business settings. Companies increasingly hosted cocktail parties to have an entertaining environment for employees and customers to mingle. These parties usually began after 5:00 P.M. Since guests are expected to walk around and meet people, clothes made for these occasions are often functional and comfortable. This practical and fashionable garment became a popular uniform for progressive elite women in the 1920s.Da Cruz, Elyssa Schram. "Cocktail Dress." ''The Berg Companion to Fashion''. Ed. Valerie Steele. Oxford: Bloomsbury Academic, 2010. Bloomsbury Fashion Central. Web. 09 Nov. 2017. .

History

19th century

A ''dinner dress'' was a

gown A gown, from the Saxon word, ''gunna'', is a usually loose outer garment from knee-to-full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the Early Middle Ages to the 17th century, and continuing today in certain professions; later, the term ''gown ...

that was worn by ladies in the

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

for dinners and parties at homes. It could be very elaborate, but often had long sleeves, a high neck, or a narrow skirt to set them apart from

evening gown An evening gown, evening dress or gown is a long dress usually worn at formal occasions. The drop ranges from ballerina (mid-calf to just above the ankles), tea (above the ankles), to full-length. Such gowns are typically worn with evening ...

s. In the 20th century however, dinner dresses went out of fashion and were replaced by evening gowns for

formal dinner Dinner usually refers to what is in many Western cultures the largest and most formal meal of the day, which is eaten in the evening. Historically, the largest meal used to be eaten around midday, and called dinner. Especially among the elite, ...

20th century

During the 1920s, French couture's clientele consisted mainly of American department stores that reproduced French designs and promoted French designers. This led French designers to create dresses to appeal to American buyers. Since cocktail parties originated in the United States, French designers created their own version of a cocktail dress. However, unlike the strict, professional cuts of American-styled dresses, the French designed much looser and free flowing beach pajamas, consisting of a silk top and

palazzo pants Palazzo pants ( en-GB, palazzo trousers, Indian English: pantada) are long women's pants cut with a loose, extremely wide leg that flares out from the waist. Palazzo pants are popular as a summer season style, as they are loose and tend to be fl ...

, usually paired with a mid-calf-length wrap jacket or sheath."Les Pyjamas et les robes du studio." ''Vogue Paris'' (June 1930): 47. These clothes were usually worn for more exclusive and intimate gatherings. The French style valued simplicity and elegance in their designs, while American-styles valued functionality and efficiency. American clients wanted a single dress that could be modified to fit several times of the day with the use of accessories. The fabric of the dress and whether it was worn with a

cocktail hat 230px, Empress Michiko wearing cocktail hat A cocktail hat is a small, extravagant, and typically brimless hat for a woman. It is usually a component of evening wear and is intended as an alternative to a large-brimmed hat. These hats are often ...

differentiated a day dress from a cocktail dress. By the mid-1920s, hemlines of dresses were just below the knee rather than ankle-length, which was more common for

The Great Depression

To take account of the

economic crisis An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with th ...

, designers such as

Muriel King Muriel King (1900–1977) was an American fashion designer based in New York City. She was one of the first American fashion designers along with Elizabeth Hawes and Clare Potter to achieve name recognition. She also designed costumes for several m ...

emphasized the importance of accessories by designing simple dresses, which also helped the market for jewelry, hats, gloves, and sheaths. After the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

, private cocktail parties became more popular than corporate gatherings, as luxurious lifestyles were no longer seen as fashionable. These elite gatherings helped the rise of day-to-evening fashion.

Post–World War II

After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds ...

came out with the "New Look", which consisted of a tight waistline, long hemlines, and fuller skirts. This style flattered the female silhouette and created a romantic aura around the aesthetic. Since cocktail parties were so popular, American designers such as

Anne Fogarty Anne Fogarty (February 2, 1919 – January 15, 1980) was an American fashion designer, active 1940–1980, who was noted for her understated, ladylike designs that were accessible to American women on a limited income. French designers, such as Dior and

Jacques Fath Jacques Fath (6 September 1912 in Maisons-Laffitte, France – 13 November 1954 in Paris, France) was a French fashion designer who was considered one of the three dominant influences on postwar haute couture, the others being Christian Dior and ...

, saw the high market for cocktail dresses and began to design dresses for American department stores. With the increasing feasibility and popularity of air travel, French cocktail dresses became popular globally. As French women traveled to wealthy resort cities, the designs of their cocktail dresses spread among the American elite. While French couture relied on travel and American department stores, American designers relied on fashion magazines, such as ''Vogue'' and ''Vanity Fair'', and the need to dress semi-formally for cocktail hour. In 1948,

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer, best known as the founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Christian Dior SE, which is now owned by parent company LVMH. His fashion houses a ...

labeled this business-casual dress "cocktail dress", which allowed department stores to advertise specifically "cocktail" garments and accessories, increasing the growth of fashion stores.Dirix, Emmanuelle. ''Dressing the Decades: Twentieth-Century Vintage Style''. Yale, 2016. The craze for cocktail culture drove sales in cocktail merchandise as well, such as cocktail and

martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars * M ...

-printed fabrics.

Composition

The American cocktail dress could be anything from a "

little black dress The little black dress (LBD) is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel. It is intended to be long-lasting, versat ...

" to a floral-printed dress or a plain, short evening gown, as long as it was worn with accessories. These might be earrings, pearl

necklace A necklace is an article of jewellery that is worn around the neck. Necklaces may have been one of the earliest types of adornment worn by humans. They often serve Ceremony, ceremonial, Religion, religious, magic (illusion), magical, or Funerary ...

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

s, or

brooch A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with vitreous enamel, ...

es (stylish in the 1950s).Milbank, Caroline Rennolds. ''New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Style''. Abrams, 1996. However, it was most common to wear

costume jewelry Costume or fashion jewelry includes a range of decorative items worn for personal adornment that are manufactured as less expensive ornamentation to complement a particular fashionable outfit or garmentBaker, Lillian. Fifty Years of Collectabl ...

. Although they were inexpensive, wearing large amounts was seen as daring and luxurious, especially when wearing a modest dress. In addition, the jewelry would be worn along with hats:

velvet Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric in which the cut threads are evenly distributed, with a short pile, giving it a distinctive soft feel. By extension, the word ''velvety'' means ...

lace Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted o ...

, or

horsehair Horsehair is the long hair growing on the manes and tails of horses. It is used for various purposes, including upholstery, brushes, the bows of musical instruments, a hard-wearing fabric called haircloth, and for horsehair plaster, a wallc ...

; little

turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...

s or close-fitting caps of

brocade Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word "broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "embos ...

taffeta Taffeta (archaically spelled taffety or taffata) is a crisp, smooth, plain woven fabric made from silk, cuprammonium rayons, acetate, and polyester. The word is Persian (تافته) in origin and means "twisted woven". As clothing, it is used in ...

, or

satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...

. Gloves needed to be fashionably up-to-date and could be any length, material, or color. Shoes were usually

high heels High-heeled shoes, also known as high heels, are a type of shoe with an angled sole. The heel in such shoes is raised above the ball of the foot. High heels cause the legs to appear longer, make the wearer appear taller, and accentuate the ...

, but evening satin sandals were also common and could be dyed to match the color of the dress.

Etiquette

As cocktail parties became more high-end, the attire became subject to stricter guidelines, which allowed people to easily differentiate between the different identities at the party: the organizer, hostess, and wife. There were strict rules of etiquette as women needed to wear gloves, hostesses were not allowed to wear accessories, and guests were required to wear cocktail hats, but never indoors.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 19th-century fashion 20th-century fashion 21st-century fashion Dinner Dresses Drinking culture History of fashion