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Circa: late 1950s
Condition: Excellent
Size: Vintage 10
Type: Red Silk Faille
Manufacturer: Howard Greer Beverly Hills
I found this great late fifties "WiggleDress" that looks like it came straight out of "Some like it Hot!" Actually, maybe it did. It was designed by Hollywood designer Howard Greer who was head of Paramount Studios Design Department in 1927, and then opened his own company under his own name.
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Tag in this dress reads :Howard Greer: Beverly Hills." Originally a cocktail dress or semi-formal, this lovely dress could now could be used for a night on the town clubbing and dancing with stilettos, and later to give a lovely skin glow while strolling barefoot on the beach with your date when the night has ended.
This sheath dress has a fitted waist and hips and cute cropped sleeves with an underbust band that creates a bust shelf. Howard Greer was credited with the "table-top" neckline (scoop) which looks lovely as one leans forward over a table. The scoop neckline on this dress would make a lovely ground for that vintage necklace or brooch you have been wanting to wear, or a great dress to show off the sequined or fringed wrap you just bought.
This head-turner is made of soft silk faille, and is in excellent condition. The bottom half of the dress is lined, so no slip need be worn. Back metal zipper is original and fully functional. I see no spots, holes, stains, or tears. It is clean and ready to wear. For future reference,dry clean to freshen up.
The vintage size given is a 10, but I will give you measurements, since vintage sizing has little to do with the size framework we now use.
Bust:36"
Waist:39"
Hips:38-39"
Underarm to hem:31.5"
Sleeve length: 9" ,
NEW LOOK INFO: "Wiggle Dress"
After the scarcity of fabric during WWII, in the late 40s and early 50s, designers were in a hurry to go back to the luxurious quality of garments. Soon after the war ended, a young designer named Christian Dior, who was working with Pierre Balmain for the design house of Lucien Lelong, began designing dresses with longer skirts. In the spring of 1947, he announced the creation of his "New Look". It caught on instantly and swept the design world.
The main characteristics of the New Look were the tight bodice and waist, and a much longer skirt. Padding was removed from the shoulders, and the the top half of the dresses presented a natural line. The first "New Look" skirts were very full and required petticoats to hold them out. They also needed yards and yards of fabric! Variations quickly followed, including the straighter skirted "wiggle dress" that Marilyn Monroe made famous.
These dresses were the first Paris designer dress lines to be copied inexpensively by assembly line manufacturers in New York, and therefore became a universal trend in American fashion for both the rich and the middle class during the 1950s and 60s.
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