Post-War Vintage Evening Dress (1945 ~ 1980s)

1945 - 1950s

Much like the 1920s, the period after the war as a time of liberation and rebellious sentiments. There was a return to body wrapping evening dress styles. Women wore underskirts like petticoats and crinolines underneath wasp waists skirts.

A vintage evening dress during this time would feature a knee length skirt propped by underskirts to exhibit a curvy and full figure. The A line and H line vintage evening dress all originated from this era.

Another characteristic of the vintage evening dress from this era is the wide use of man-made fibres in the garment. Man-made fibre technology advanced greatly during the war because of their military application and these advances led to their wide spread commercial use after the war.

1960s

The vintage evening dress of the 60s was highly vibrant and varied. This was the age of the hippies; characterised by free-spiritedness and free love. Fashion gradually moved from catering for the wealthy towards targeting the wider public.

One of the style of vintage evening dress from the 60s emphasized loose fitting clothing with flowery patterns. Designers experimented widely with colors, patterns, textures and many were inspired by non-western cultures. These free flowing dresses are simple yet elegant; and for the first time, fashion became widespread among common people. These dresses therefore became known as peasant blouses.

Another classic vintage evening dress style from this era is the paper dress. These garments were of simple geometrical shapes that made them ideal for bold graphic prints. These vintage evening dresses are extremely rare today because they were designed to be disposable, so few of them probably lasted till today.

Towards the late 1960s, evening dresses also saw the introduction of very short thigh-length skirts known as mini-skirts. Mini-skirt fashion today originated from the vintage evening dress of this design back then.

1970s

The 1970s was famous for disco culture. Disco wasn’t just a brand of music or dance, it was a way of life and vintage evening dress from this era reflects much disco influence. What women wore to the disco were commonly plastic fabrics like polyester, acrylic and lycra.

Vintage evening dress of the era took on the ruffled and loose look; mini-skirts grew longer, but stopped advancing at the knee.

1980s

The 80s is the closest vintage age to the present era. The vintage evening dress from this era is characterized by being prim and proper. 80s vintage evening dress is easily identified by the very broad shoulders and thick should pads.

A special development in women fashion of the 80s had to be the classic aerobic exercise dress. Exercise clothes were brightly colored, body hugging and worn casually even when not used for exercising.