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Cocktail Party At The Imperial Hotel, 1961 

Italian Cocktail dress, 1960

After World War I, the idea of the “working woman” became popular. Since 1929, it was more common to see women in a social atmosphere. With the help liberation organizations, the idea of a "modern woman" began to rise, and soon the "drinking woman" could be seen in business settings. Companies usually host cocktail parties to have an entertaining environment for employees and customers to mingle. These parties usually last around two hours occurring after 5:00 P.M. Since guests are expected to walk around and meet people, clothes made for these occasions were often functional and comfortable. A cocktail dress could be worn to any event in the late afternoon as long as the accessories matched the time of day. This practical and fashionable garment became a popular uniform for progressive elite women in the 1920s.

History

During the 1920s, French couture's clientele consisted mainly of American department stores that reproduced French designs and promoted French designers. This caused French designers to create dresses that appeal to American buyers. Since cocktail parties originated from 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. This consists of a silk top and palazzo pants that are usually paired with a mid-calf-length wrap jacket or sheath. These clothes are usually worn for more exclusive and intimate gatherings. The French style valued simplicity and elegance in their designs while American style valued functionality and efficiency. American clients wanted a single dress that can 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 differentiated the dress between a day dress and a cocktail dress. By the mid-1920s, the hemline of the dresses were right below the knee rather than ankle-length, which were more common for evening gowns.

Sketch of French Cocktail Dress

The Great Depression

To take account for the economic crises, designers such as Muriel King emphasized the importance of accessories by designing simple dresses. These simple dresses emphasized the need for accessories, which also helped the market for jewelry, hats, gloves, and sheaths. However, after the Wall Street Crash of 1929, private cocktail parties became more popular 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, Dior came out with the "New Look" that consisted of a tight waistline, long hemlines, and fuller skirts. This style flattered the women silhouette and created a romanic aura around the aesthetic. Since cocktail parties were so popular, American designers such as Anne Fogarty, began to create cocktail dresses that revolved around the "New Look" using less expensive fabrics. French designers, such as Dior and Jacques Fath, saw the high market for cocktail dresses and began to design dresses for American department stores.

American Cocktail Dress 1950s

Trend Spreading

As traveling became easier because of the invention of airplanes, French cocktail dresses became popular globally. As French women traveled to wealthy resort cities, the designs of their cocktail dresses were able to 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-formal for cocktail hour.

In 1948, Christian Dior labeled this business-casual dress with the term "cocktail dress". This allowed department store to advertise specifically “cocktail” garments and accessories, increasing the growth of fashion stores. The crazed over cocktail culture drove sales in cocktail merchandise as well, such as cocktail and martini-printed fabrics.

Dress Style

American cocktail dress could be anything from a “little black dress,” floral printed dress, or a plain, short evening gown, as long as it was worn with accessories. These can be earrings, pearl necklaces, bracelets, or broaches (stylish in the 1950s). However, it was more common to wear accessories with costume jewelry. Although they were inexpensive, worn in excessive amounts was seen as daring and luxurious, especially when wearing a modest dress. In addition, the jewelry would be worn along with hats: velvet, lace, or horsehair; little turbans or close-fitting caps of brocade, taffeta, or satin. Gloves needed to be fashionably up-to-date and can be any length, material, or color. Shoes were usually high heels, but evening satin sandals were also common and could be dyed to match the color of the dress.

Dress Code

As cocktail parties became more high-end, the attire became more strict. These strict guidelines allowed people to easily differentiate between the different identities at the party, the organizer, hostess, and wife. There were also strict roles 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.