Dress
A dress (also frock, gown) is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.
In Western culture, dresses are usually considered women's clothing. The hemline of dresses can be as high as the upper thigh or as low as the ground, depending on the whims of fashion and the modesty or personal taste of the wearer.
History
Dresses increased dramatically to the hoopskirt and crinoline-supported styles of the 1860s; then fullness was draped and drawn to the back by any dresses had a "day" bodice with a high neckline and long sleeves, and an "evening" bodice with a low neckline (decollete) and very short sleeves. Throughout this period, the length of fashionable dresses varied only slightly, between ankle-length and floor-sweeping.
Dress types
Depending on design dresses are classified. Different basic dress shapes[1] are:
- Shirtwaist, a dress with a bodice (waist) like a tailored shirt and an attached straight or full skirt
- Sheath, a fitted, often sleeveless dress, often without a waistseam (1960s)
- Shift, a straight dress with no waist shaping or seam (1960s)
- Jumper dress (American English) or Pinafore dress (British English) is a sleeveless dress intended to be worn over a layering top or blouse. Jumper dresses exist for both summer and winter wear.
- Sundress is an informal sleeveless dress of any shape in a lightweight fabric, for summer wear.
- Tent, a dress flared from above the bust, sometimes with a yoke (1960s, renewed popularity after 2005)
- Wrap dress, a dress with a front closure formed by wrapping one side across the other and knotting the attached ties on the side, or fastening buttons. This forms a V-shaped neckline and hugs a woman's curves. A faux wrap dress resembles this design, except that it comes already fastened together with no opening in front, but instead is slipped on over the head. (1970s; renewed popularity from late 1990s)
