Images(3)

Strapless Olive Green Evening Dress

Date1950s

Object NameDress

Mediumtaffeta

ClassificationsFashion and Dress

DimensionsLength: 133cm
Waist: 78cm
Hem Circumference: 339cm

AcquisitionThe Peggy Walker Gift.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS006056

Keywords

About MeOlive green taffeta full-length evening dress with boned bodice, gathered waist and skirt with fullness at the back. Along with crinoline skirts, the boned bodice, so vital for an elegant torso and tiny waist in the 19th century, also made a comeback during the 1950s.

Balls, dances and cocktail parties were a popular form of entertainment in the 1950s, especially after the restrictions of the Second World War. The crinoline style with its nipped-in waist and full skirt was first re-introduced by Christian Dior in 1947 and dubbed the "New Look". The style emerged from the need for women to reassert their femininity after clothes rationing and the manual labour they were involved in as part of the war effort during the 1940s.