A shirtdress is a style of women's
dress that borrows details from a man's
shirt
A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body (from the neck to the waist).
Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for a broad variety of upper-body garments and undergarments. ...
. These can include a
collar, a
button
A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole.
In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, or ...
front, or
cuff
A cuff is a layer of fabric at the lower edge of the sleeve of a garment (shirt, coat, jacket, etc.) at the wrist, or at the ankle end of a trouser leg. The function of turned-back cuffs is to protect the cloth of the garment from fraying, and, ...
ed
sleeve
A sleeve (, a word allied to '' slip'', cf. Dutch ) is the part of a garment that covers the arm, or through which the arm passes or slips.
The sleeve is a characteristic of fashion seen in almost every country and time period, across a myri ...
s. Often, these dresses are made up in crisp fabrics including
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
or
silk
Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...
, much like a men's
dress shirt
A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt is a garment with a Collar (clothing), collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down ...
would be. As they are typically cut without a
seam at the waist, these dresses often have a looser fit, usually relying on a
belt to define the waist. Button fronts and a forgiving fit make this a flattering look for most
body types.
History
Shirtdresses were sometimes called a "shirtwaist dress" when they were fashionable during the 1950s. The 1950s version of the shirtdress was launched as part of
Christian Dior
Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...
's post–World War II "
New Look" couture designs, with a full skirt held up by wearing a
crinoline. They often featured a notched collar, and elbow-length sleeves with cuffs. More informal versions of the shirtdress, made of cotton, but retaining the full skirt and collar, became a staple part of many women's wardrobes during the 1950s, with designers such as
Anne Fogarty becoming known for their versions of this style.
[''Popular Shirt Dress Combines Tailored Top with Ruffly Skirt'', ''Reading Eagle'', June 30, 1954, p. 26] A 1957 issue of ''
Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
'' magazine includes a photo of a typical cotton shirtdress selling for $25 in New York City.
A variation of the original shirtdress is the "T-shirt dress". T-shirt dresses began being produced in the 1960s, and are simply an elongated version of a
T-shirt.
Image gallery
File:How a British Woman Dresses in Wartime- Utility Clothing in Britain, 1943 D14784.jpg, A 1943 shirtdress.
File:Girl at Piccadilly Circus.jpg, A shirtdress worn with a belt, 1970s.
File:ERHW Porch1.jpg, A 1990s shirtdress.
File:Young woman in a shirtdress 2011-04-11.jpg, A shirtdress worn in 2011.
See also
*
1945–60 in fashion
References
External links
*
*
Gibson Girl: Costumes of the 1890spdf(31 March 1959 – 30 August 1959) -
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
::"The shirtwaist dress of the period was a major American contribution to fashion; shirts and skirts have been worn ever since."
*
Halston. ''
Ultrasuedebr>
Shirtwaist Dress' (1972)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
*
Simplicity Pattern Company (1953
Shirtwaist Dress with Flared Skirt Plus Size 20 Pattern #4260
{{Clothing
Dresses
20th-century fashion