Strapless dress

A strapless dress or top is a garment that stays put around the upper body without shoulder straps or other visible means of support. It is usually supported by an internal corset and/or brassiere, with the tightness of the bodice preventing the dress from slipping out of position.

According to Richard Martin and Harold Koda, the modern strapless dress first appeared in the 1930s, where it was popularised by designers such as Mainbocher, and, from the late 1940s, Christian Dior. The July 18, 1938, issue of Life claimed that the "absolutely strapless, sleeveless evening dress" was a 1937–38 invention. However, that was predated in 1930 by the actress Libby Holman, who had been photographed in an apparently strapless dress that year. Holman became associated with the strapless dress and is regularly credited with inventing it, or at least being one of its first high-profile wearers.

In 1934, Mainbocher produced his first strapless gown, a black satin design which has been described as the first strapless evening dress. Along with Holman and Mainbocher, the heiress Brenda Frazier is also credited with popularising the style when she wore a strapless débutante dress for her debut and famously appeared in it on the November 14, 1938, cover of Life.

Strapless dresses remained popular after the Second World War, with the style sometimes being described as the "naked look". One of the most famous strapless dresses of this period was the black satin gown worn by Rita Hayworth for a song and dance routine in Gilda. Hayworth's performance demonstrated to viewers that strapless dresses could be secure enough to move around and dance in without risk of indecent exposure. Despite this, more conservative customers might add shoulder straps to their new strapless dresses. The style was also problematic for those who objected to its perceived immodesty. During the 1940s and 1950s, Catholic campaigners in the United States protested against "immodest" clothing, including two-piece and strapless swimsuits and dresses. In 1954, the United States Army tried to ban Army wives and daughters in Germany from wearing shorts, jeans, and strapless dresses, "except at appropriate social functions."

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