White Cocktail Dresses

Coco Chanel is attributed to designing the first little black dress in the twenties and eventually was called the cocktail dress. It is almost one hundred years and it is still in style. Audrey Hepburn made the little black dress famous in her movies and wearing pearls with them. Ladies of affluence started wearing the white cocktail dresses shortly thereafter.

After World War One ended and the men started coming back from the war, women needed a new style of clothes, the factory clothes just would not do anymore. The ladies now wanted dresses to be less official looking and a bit more formal for all of the high cultural events they would be attending.

The first cocktail dress might have been made of flowing chiffon or silk, many had hand embroidery on or around the bodice, usually at knee length. The rules of fashion in those days were very strict when it came to women’s clothes. It made sure the length was not too short, and the white cocktail dresses were void of collars and sleeves.

The white cocktail dresses were worn with some accessories, like a small clutch purse, maybe with a pretty gold or silver chain. It would hold only a few items as they were small. Long elegant gloves would be worn; they just add such elegance to the lady and the dress. Some wore elbow length white gloves others would wear wrist lengths. There were more and more styles designed for the white cocktail dresses from the puffed skirts or the tightly fitted ones. Some were what they call pencil skirts with embroidery on the collar. These styles carried through until the middle nineteen sixties.

During the nineteen sixties, white cocktail dresses were all but forgotten. It was the era of free living and free fitting clothes. The white cocktail dresses were much to confining and did not fit in with the new generation. Around the nineteen nineties came the rebirth of the cocktail dresses. Movie stars love to find the old vintage styles and wear them on the red carpet.

A must have in a designers collection is white cocktail dresses, no matter what the season is. They follow the tradition almost to the letter. No sleeves or collar, they can be made out of satin, chiffon or silk. Some have flowing appeal to them, others are skin tight and really hugs the body. White cocktail dresses now can be worn to banquettes the theater; not just too cocktail parties.

Many white cocktail dresses made today do have sleeves or halter type styles. They are not as elegant as they used to be in the era where style was stylish and elegant and made a women look like a women. The prices of white cocktail dresses vary. Depending on what it is made of the prices can start as low as forty dollars and go up into the thousands.

So whatever design of white cocktail dresses you choose, you will feel elegant and womanly in them.