A backless dress is a style of women's

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

designed to expose the wearer's

back The human back, also called the dorsum (: dorsa), is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral c ...

. The back may be either partially exposed with a low cut or fully exposed with the use of strings. A backless

dress A dress (also known as a frock or a gown) is a one-piece outer garment that is worn on the torso, hangs down over the legs, and is primarily worn by women or girls. Dresses often consist of a bodice attached to a skirt. Dress shapes, silh ...

is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as

wedding dress A wedding dress or bridal gown is the dress worn by the bride during a wedding ceremony. The color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants. Wedding dresses hold a significan ...

es and can be of any length, from a

miniskirt A miniskirt (or mini-skirt, mini skirt, or mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a dress with such a hemline is called a minidress or a miniskirt ...

-length to floor-length. Other backless styles include backless

swimsuit A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types and styles may be worn ...

s and

tops Total Operations Processing System (TOPS) is a computer system for managing railway locomotives and rolling stock, known for many years of use in the United Kingdom. TOPS was originally developed between the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP), ...

, such as a

halter top Halterneck is a style of women's clothing strap that runs from the front of the garment around the back of the neck, generally leaving the upper back uncovered. The name comes from livestock halters. The word "halter" is of Germanic origin and me ...

Evolution

Backless dresses first appeared in the 1920s. In the 1930s, the style became associated with the

sun tanning Sun tanning or tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. It is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or from artificial sources, such as a tanning lamp found in indoor tanning b ...

fashions of the time, and the backless dress was a way of showing off a tan, usually without tan lines. The wearer usually had to be slim to be able to pull off the effect. In December 1937, the actress Micheline Patton was controversially filmed from behind while wearing a backless dress in the final episode of the early

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

fashion documentary '' Clothes-Line''.Taylor, Lou, '' Establishing Dress History'', chapter 2 (Manchester 2002) The illusion of nudity led to outraged viewers writing in to complain, and

Pearl Binder Pearl Binder, Baroness Elwyn-Jones (pronounced ; 28 June 1904 – 25 January 1990) was a British writer, illustrator, stained-glass artist, lithographer, sculptor and a champion of the Pearly Kings and Queens. Binder was a well-known charact ...

, who co-presented the show, quipped, "Grandmamma looks back but Micheline has no back to be seen."

Styles

A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's

neck The neck is the part of the body in many vertebrates that connects the head to the torso. It supports the weight of the head and protects the nerves that transmit sensory and motor information between the brain and the rest of the body. Addition ...

halterneck Halterneck is a style of women's clothing strap that runs from the front of the garment around the back of the neck, generally leaving the upper back uncovered. The name comes from livestock halters. The word "halter" is of Germanic origin and me ...

-style. The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by a single or two

spaghetti strap Spaghetti () is a long, thin, solid, cylindrical pasta.spaghetti
Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Una ...

s, which hold the dress up at the

shoulder The human shoulder is made up of three bones: the clavicle (collarbone), the scapula (shoulder blade), and the humerus (upper arm bone) as well as associated muscles, ligaments and tendons. The articulations between the bones of the shoulder m ...

s. A stick-on dress is another way that a dress can be held up.

Olivia Wilde Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn, , March 10, 1984) is an American actress and director. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' (2007–2012), and appeared ...

used nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards
Front view
an
back view

Choli

The backless style is also found in the

choli A choli or ravike in South India is a blouse or a bodice-like upper garment, that is usually cut short or cropped leaving the midriff bare. It is worn along with a sari in the Indian subcontinent. In northern Gujarat is also known as ''polku''. ...

, the blouse worn by

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n women along with

sari A sari (also called sharee, saree or sadi)The name of the garment in various regional languages include: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is a drape (cloth) and a women's garment in the Indian subcontinent. It consists of an un-sti ...

s and

ghagra Ghagra choli (also known as lehenga choli and chaniya choli) is a type of ethnic clothing for women from India, notably in the Indian states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, Punjab, India, Punjab, Himachal ...

s. The back is either "partially exposed" with a low cut or "fully exposed" by use of strings. The backless styles were created mainly due to the influence of Western fashion.* * It was made popular by

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (Maiden and married names, née Dixit, ; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress and television personality. She has appeared in Madhuri Dixit filmography, over 70 Hindi films. Praised by critics for her performances and danc ...

when she wore it and appeared in the ''Dhak Dhak Karne Laga'' song. "The drape and the blouse make the saree a sexy ensemble, and my blouses are always low back because I love the peep of the skin against so much fabric", as stated by Indian actress

Vidya Balan Vidya Balan (pronounced ; born 1 January 1979) is an Indian actress. Known for pioneering a change in the portrayal of women in Hindi cinema with her roles in female-led films, she is the recipient of several awards, including a National Fil ...

Breast support

Breast support may be an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, but nevertheless most women choosing this style of top prefer to go braless. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras.

References

{{Clothing 20th-century fashion 21st-century fashion Dresses Human back

Evolution

Styles

Choli

Breast support

See also

References