Wrap dress

Awrap dressis generic term for adresswith a front closure formed by wrapping one side across the other, and is fastened at the side or tied at the back.This forms a V-shaped neckline. Afaux wrap dressresembles this design, except that it comes already fastened together with no opening in front, but instead is slipped on over the head. Awrap topis atopcut 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 ofOrientalismwhich was popular in the 19th century.
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 asKoreaandJapan) while wrap-over neckline which closes to the left were basic styles of garments which were widely used inCentral AsiaandEast Asia, as well asEurope, fromWest Asia.
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'aoandru, etc., and as short-sleeved or sleeveless wrap-style upper garment such asbanbianddahu, etc.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').
Thejiaoling yourenwas adopted by the Japanese in 718 AD through theYoro Codewhich stipulated that all robes had to be closed from the left to the right in a typical Chinese way.
Wrap-style garments which were tied withsashhave very ancient origins in China and were later introduced inJapaninfluencing the design of thekimono.Thekimonooriginated from the Chinesejiaoling pao, which gained popularity in the 8th-century Japanese court.
European clothing with wrap-style closure were heavily influenced by the popularity ofOrientalismin the 19th century.In the 20th century,Chinoiserie in fashiongained popularity and impacted many fashion designers of the time, including fashion designed based in theUnited States. According to theLadies’ Home Journalof June 1913, volume 30, issue 6:
Chinoiserie continued to be popular in the 1920s and was a major influence in the dress feature and fashion design of this period; simultaneously,Japonismealso 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.
During theGreat Depression, house dresses called "Hooverettes" were popular which employed a wrap design. Wrap dresses were designed byElsa Schiaparelliin the 1930sand byClaire McCardellin the 1940s, whose original 'popover' design, which was made out of denim, became the basis for a variety of wrap-around dresses.Fashion designerCharles Jamesalso designed a wrap dress.
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.The wrap-around lounging wear, which was inspired by the native Chinese dress, gained popularity among women during this period.
Although it is often claimed thatDiane von Fürstenberg'invented' what is known as the wrap dress in 1972/73,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 designersportsweartradition," with her choice of elastic, synthetic fabrics distinguishing her work from earlier wrap dresses.Her design is actually a two-pieces dress where a wrap top is sewn to a skirt,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.She has stated that her divorce inspired the design,and also suggested it was created in the spirit of enabling women to enjoy sexual freedom.The wrap dress that she designed in 1974 was a design re-interpretation of theKimono.
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 liberationin the 1970s.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.The wrap dress's popularity and its quick disrobing, and perceivedfeministsignificance have remained current into the mid-2010s.In 2004 a book dedicated entirely to Fürstenberg's wrap dresses was published.