Now look, the decade is often marked as the era of the flapper, nevertheless not nearly any woman was bold enough to wear short skirts and bob her hair in the course of the 1920s.
Whenever allowing women to look ‘nottoo’ sophisticated throughout the day and not a single difference between a stylish day ensemble and cocktail outfit was a change in accessories, hence the popularity of the cocktail hat and similar coordinating pieces. Whenever dancing the Charleston and smoking cigarettes with a cocktail in hand, equipped with greater amounts of independence, young women rebelled against the older generations by preparing to clubs. Whenever making the cocktail dress a necessary factor in a woman’stransition between day and night, like the modern happy hour, the cocktail hour usually ok place between 6and 8eight. As pointed out by fashion historian Elyssa Schram Da Cruz shoes and gloves was designated to accompany her, therefore this new Drinking type Woman was seen at private cocktail soirées and lounges.
Whenever the war was over, a surge in the popularity of athome cocktail parties gave the cocktail dress a whole new life, the devastating effects of World War I had an obvious effect on cocktail dressing.
Whenever leading to a rise in the use and concept of cocktail dressing by the end of the 1940s, dior famously dubbed one of his early evening frocks a cocktail dress.
With that said, this terminology was also a sly marketing technique used to attract booze loving American customers who enjoyed hosting and dressing for cocktail hours. Women’s clothing in the Western world at this time was highly influenced by Christian Dior’s New Look collection of 1947, that made cinched waists and full skirts the ubiquitous silhouette for formal dressing, with the ‘formhugging’ sheath dresses popularized in films by the likes of Marilyn Monroe. There is some more info about this stuff here. In his 1957 autobiographyChristian Dior and I, the famed French designer stated the cocktail was the symbol par excellence of the American way of life, right after all.
So 1950s are perceived by many to be the height or age of the cocktail dress.
Cocktail hour and cocktail parties helped to define the domesticated rolls of women as wives, matrons and hostesses as these kinds of gatherings types had become an integral part of social life between the 1950s and 1960s.
French couturiers continued to release cocktail specific dresses in a vast selection of colors and styles, and American women were quick to purchase cheaper copies made on Seventh Avenue with an eye to have their own little piece of highend cocktail culture. There were rather strict rules of etiquette that were followed by hostesses and guests, albeit cocktail engagements were not limited to any degree of income or social status. Known the shortandstylish cocktail dress was the one true requirement for any of these gettogethers, the etiquette could differ by year and social group.
What, exactly, is a cocktail dress, the term often evokes smoky lounges or elegant soirées.
As actress Jean Arthur explains in the 1936 film The Ex Mrs.
By standard definition, a cocktail dress is a short dress that is suitable for formal occasions. Bradford, it’s something to spill cocktails on. One issue remains consistent, from its inception. Color, fabric or style. Oftentimes welcome to Fashion History Lesson, in which we dive deep into the origin and evolution of the fashion industry’s most influential and omnipresent businesses, icons, trends and more. Term was used more frequently in the 1930s, the first direct mention of a cocktail dress in Vogue was in the May 15. Referencing a Patou dress in mannish tweed. Article from 1930 in The NY Times explains that the cocktail dress was betterknown by quite a few different names similar to the late afternoon frock, that was much more closely about the evening mode than to the afternoon mode as it used to be before acute romanticism set in.
Whenever dubbing the cocktail dress avowedly modern, a year later, the October 1931 issue of Harper’s Bazaar sang the praises of the relatively new garment type.
The American stock market crash of 1929 and the preceding economic depression completely altered the carefree nature of theflapper era, and fashions echoed the social change.
Cocktail dresses followed identical slim, bias cut, ankle length styles that dominated female fashion of the 1930s and replaced the cylindrical, short styles that fit the mood of the flappers. There was still an awful lot of drinking going on, that made the practicality of the cocktail dress even more important, even though one will assume that the economic hardships would put a damper on cocktail culture. With that said, this modern golden age has more to do with hip bars, creative bartenders and innovative concoctions than parties and dressing. Let me tell you something. For the most part, the days ofcocktail etiquette, gether with the semiformal dressing standards, are long gone. Needless to say, today, a cocktail party has enough chances to be a comeasyouare affair, and cocktail dresses are found only at weddings, holiday parties and exclusive fashion and entertainment industry events.
Enter the 2000s, perceived by many to be the renaissance of cocktail culture.
Photo.
Yves Saint Laurent’s Mondrian collection. By the end of the 1960s, even upperclass women began hosting ‘athome’ drinking soirées in palazzo pants and jumpsuits, and the idea of the cocktail dress became more of a style than occasion type wear. For true cocktail aficionados, the period between the 1970s and 1990s is seen mostly as a low point in the history of drink mixing, and the popularity of hosting semiformal cocktail affairs slowly disappeared gether with the cocktail shakers. Whether they have been intended or used to fit that purpose, from Yves Saint Laurent’s mid 60″‘s ‘Mondrian’ dress to the slinky slip dresses worn by ‘cosmo sipping’ Carrie Bradshaw in the late 90’s, designers never stopped producing ‘so called’ cocktail dresses. That said, it’s now amongst the most formal items in the closets of many modern women, not limited to any sort of time or social function, the cocktail dress was originally intended to give women an informal and practical dressing option. It’s kept women looking good while sipping booze for almost a century, and will continue to do so for decades to come.