 | |
| Type | Agarment with wrap over front closure |
|---|---|
| Material | Diverse |
| Place of origin | Asia, especially influenced byChina andJapan |
| Introduced | Europe andUnited States |
"Wrap dress" is a generic term for adress with a front closure formed by wrapping one side across the other, and is fastened at the side or tied at the back.[1] This forms a V-shaped neckline. Afaux 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. Awrap top is atop cut and constructed in the same way as a wrap dress, but without a skirt. The design of wrap-style closure in European garments was the results of the heavy influences ofOrientalism which was popular in the 19th century.[2][note 1]
Wrap-over neckline which closes to the right side originated in China and can be traced back to theShang dynasty (1600 to 1046 B.C) before spreading to other countries (such asKorea andJapan) while wrap-over neckline which closes to the left were basic styles of garments which were widely used inCentral Asia andEast Asia, as well asEurope, fromWest Asia.[3]
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The traditional clothing of theHan Chinese,Hanfu, are traditionally loose, wrap-style garments; these include wrap-style robes, such as theancient shenyi (which sews a top and a skirt to form a dress), thezhiduo, thedaopao, and thejiaoling pao (a one-piece dress), etc., as well as wrap-style upper garments, such as thechang'ao andru, etc., and as short-sleeved or sleeveless wrap-style upper garment such asbanbi anddahu, etc.[note 2] The Chinese wrap-over neckline typically closes on the right side like the alphabetic letter《y》and is referred asjiaoling youren (Chinese:交领右衽;lit. 'intersecting collar right lapel') but can occasionally close on the left side under some circumstances in a style known asjiaoling zuoren (Chinese:交领左衽;lit. 'intersecting collar left lapel').[note 3]
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Thejiaoling youren was adopted by the Japanese in 718 AD through theYoro Code which stipulated that all robes had to be closed from the left to the right in a typical Chinese way.[4]
Wrap-style garments which were tied withsash have very ancient origins in China and were later introduced inJapan influencing the design of thekimono.[5]: 122 Thekimono originated from the Chinesejiaoling pao, which gained popularity in the 8th-century Japanese court.[6]
European clothing with wrap-style closure were heavily influenced by the popularity ofOrientalism in the 19th century.[2][note 4] In the 20th century,Chinoiserie in fashion gained popularity and impacted many fashion designers of the time, including fashion designed based in theUnited States. According to theLadies’ Home Journal of June 1913, volume 30, issue 6:
Interest in the political and civic activities of the new China, which is more or less world-wide at this time, led the designers of this page [p.26] and the succeeding one [p.27] to look to that country for inspiration for clothes that would be unique and new and yet fit in with present-day modes and the needs and environments of American women [...]
— Ladies’ Home Journal: The Chinese Summer Dress, published in June 1913: Vol 30, issue 6, p. 26
Chinoiserie continued to be popular in the 1920s and was a major influence in the dress feature and fashion design of this period; simultaneously,Japonisme also had a profound impact by influencing new forms of clothing designs of this period; for example, the use of wrap top andobi-like sash as an influence of the JapaneseKimono.[7]
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During theGreat Depression, house dresses called "Hooverettes" were popular which employed a wrap design. Wrap dresses were designed byElsa Schiaparelli in the 1930s[8][9] and byClaire McCardell in the 1940s, whose original 'popover' design, which was made out of denim, became the basis for a variety of wrap-around dresses.[10]: 105 [11] Fashion designerCharles James also designed a wrap dress.[12]
In the early 1970s, Orientalism re-emerged as the West officially expressed eagerness towards the Far East. Oriental fashion, thus, re-surfaced in American fashion wear; American designers also showed these Oriental influences in their creation designs.[13]: 112 The wrap-around lounging wear, which was inspired by the native Chinese dress, gained popularity among women during this period.[13]: 112
Although it is often claimed thatDiane von Fürstenberg 'invented' what is known as the wrap dress in 1972/73,[14]Richard Martin, a former curator of theCostume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, noted that the form of Fürstenberg's design had already been "deeply embedded into the American designersportswear tradition," with her choice of elastic, synthetic fabrics distinguishing her work from earlier wrap dresses.[15] Her design is actually a two-pieces dress where a wrap top is sewn to a skirt,[10]: 105 similar to the making of the Chineseshenyi.
The Fürstenberg interpretation of the wrap dress, which was consistently knee-length, in a clingingjersey, with long sleeves, was so popular and so distinctive that the style has generally become associated with her.[16][17][18] She has stated that her divorce inspired the design,[19] and also suggested it was created in the spirit of enabling women to enjoy sexual freedom.[20] The wrap dress that she designed in 1974 was a design re-interpretation of theKimono.[10]: 105
However, Fürstenberg acknowledged in 2024 that her notable wrap dress design in fact bore similarities to her previous skirt and wrap top dresses, with the her idea of making her notable wrap dress figure developing after she noticedJulie Nixon Eisenhower opted to wear one of her skirt and wrap dresses while defendingher father during a televised appearance she made as theWatergate scandal was progressing.[21]
Wrap dresses achieved their peak of popularity in the mid to late 1970s, and the design, essentially a robe, has been credited with becoming a symbol ofwomen's liberation in the 1970s.[22][23] They experienced renewed popularity beginning in the late 1990s, particularly after von Fürstenberg reintroduced her wrap dress in 1997; she, among others, has continued to design wrap dresses since then.[17][24]André Leon Talley published a 2004 book dedicated entirely to Fürstenberg's wrap dresses.[25] The popularity of the wrap dress and its perceivedfeminist significance persisted into the 2010s.[23]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)Revived in 1997, the dress again sold in the millions.
