Cocktail dresses in retrospect

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You can be surprised but cocktail dresses have a very long history. They are believed to have appeared in the 1920s the sale and consumption of alcohol were prohibited in the United States.

Men had just returned from war and women, who had worked in factories producing uniforms and weapons, wanted to enjoy social gatherings.

Due to the fact drinking alcohol was banned, social drinking had to be done under cover. A cocktail party was easy to organize and if you could find the alcohol there were always plenty of available guests.

Women could not wear chic evening gowns to these parties as the police were able to detect that social gatherings were to be held. It was necessary to create special garments which were less formal than dinner clothing, yet more adorned than day wear. This way the cocktail dress for women was born!

The first cocktail dresses were similar to the waistless, loose cut of the flapper dress. Originally designed for the young, the dresses barely covered the knee. Many dresses were heavily beaded or had fringes; typical fabrics were silk and layered chiffon.

Cocktail clothing was accessorized with tiny bags encrusted in sequins and rhinestones, set in a frame, most often with a small chain handle.

Shoes were slipper-like, and often dyed to match dress or purse. Elbow length or shorter gloves and small hat were worn by guests, but the hostess remained more casual, without a hat, a purse or gloves. Since then on these accessories became traditional to cocktail dressing, and remained as part of the fashion through the mid-60s.

During the early 30s, cocktail parties became extremely popular. Waisted, slim skirted dresses were designed for older women. Dresses became more refined, but still made of silk. The “little black dress” became an essential part of a woman’s wardrobe, and the typical cocktail dress color.

In the 1940s, soldiers returned from overseas. Many of them brought exotic clothing for their girlfriends and soon Asian dresses in beautiful brocade fabrics and bright floral Hawaiian rayon prints became trendy. More and more flesh was exposed by dresses, almost always with no sleeves at all. Decorative elements were brighter and more lavish.

In the 50s cocktail became a culture. Cocktail parties remained, but couples and small group gatherings often went out.

Music, starting in the 20s with the rise of the jazz age, became an important part of the cocktail hour. Cocktail dresses of that time were of many styles.

Full skirts and décolleté necklines, slim skirts with jewel necklines, body-hugging and curve-enhancing was the order of the day.

Dress and coat suits, and three-piece skirt suits also became popular, always combined with the tiny matching bag, dyed-to-match shoes and gloves.

In the 60s decoration on clothing became less obtrusive. Skirts narrowed, and for the young, cocktail clothing eventually gave way to wild discotheque outfits.

Alcohol consumption at all hours was becoming increasingly more acceptable, time and place seemed less important and cocktail parties began to fade in popularity. More frequently, couples stayed for the cocktail hour, and by the late 60s, loungewear replaced fancy cocktail dress.

In the 90s people witnessed a revival of the cocktail tradition, in both music and style. Vintage cocktail garments were in fashion again as well as they are now.