So...a wiggle dress is longer??

coffeegrl

coffeegrl

Registered Guest
Hi :blush: I'm still trying to figure out the names of different dresses, I know a "Twiggy" dress is the uber short, skinny style dress (right?? lol) A "Secretary" dress is usually belted, sometimes has a jacket with, often wer really sexy (I have about 5 see through ish ones vavavoom!)...but they are this certain cut usually with elastic around the middle and go to below the knee (Right ? lol - oh and usually from the 70's and 80's??) and so now a "Wiggle" dress, it's a skinny style longer type dress from the 50's??

What defines a "garden party" dress??

Where do the dresses get the names from and why is it called a "Wiggle" dress??

Thanks! :)
 
Most of these terms are pretty subjective -- I've seen "garden party" referring to floral dresses from the 30's through to the 80's!!

A wiggle dress has a straight skirt (I believe it's technically supposed to be narrower at the hem than the waist? Is that right?) with no kick pleat -- so that you are forced to 'wiggle" when you walk.

A secretary dress -- I believe you mean the whole "sexy secretary" idea? Usually a fairly covered up "office appropriate" dress, but one that definitely shows off the wearer's shape. By today's use, you could think of "Red" Holloway on Mad Men.

Hope that helps!
 
OK cool - yeah the secretary dresses - I think of them as appropriate sexy lol, just a bit riskee - although I do have a few that are absolutly see through, but I guess they would've been worn with a slip?? They'd have to be...

And Wiggle, ahhh, nice, that's what I love about vintage clothes, they're so sexy with out being sleezy...
 
I usually think of '50s sexy day (plains, not prints) as secretary dresses, especially if they're fitted but demure.

The names get added by particular sellers and adopted because they resonate - I've always been tickled by "wiggle" and wonder if it existed pre-ebay.

At Circa I also have "picnic dresses", which are floral or sheer, and look best when sprawling on the grass with a glass of champagne.

Nicole
 
Oh I'm sooo confused :duh2: I'm searching through vintage patterns, knitting mags and patterns, I got a few Eaton's catalouges - mainly they were called - drumroll please...Misses dress...THAT'S IT???!! lol all of them, dress, skirt ect...:powwows:...so I just found a 70's shirt dress - which is what I have been calling a shift dress - looks like my idea of a shirt dress is actually a shift dress....:insane:....perhaps my perfectionist tendancies are getting the best of me, I've set my "grand opning for the 7th and I have 7 things listed (the lesser of the collection just to fill the store) but I'm so busy relisting, revamping, researching there's no way I'll hit my target...sigh...

I also wonder if the terms were around pre-ebay as well...Oh well I think I'll set my opening back a week, I'd rather get it rightish at least...Thanks for listening :icon_dante: off to work again :)
 
I think anything that is light and breezy with some kind of floral theme could be called a "garden party" dress, regardless of the era. I agree that a wiggle skirt has no vent of any kind and is at least the same measurement at the hem as the waist - kind of hobbles the wearer a bit. Ideally I suppose the hem is smaller than the waist.

I think the era is more important than the terms. You may call it a "shirt dress" and someone else may call it "shift dress" - the photos will tell the story, although I think of a "shift" as a fairly simple, evenly proportioned dress without a waist line.

This site might be helpful.
 
Agree with Amanda that it's more important to get the era right - we all call things different names anyway. Wiggle (for example) is such an overused word on ebay. I think it just means "I want to convince you it can look sexy even though it doesn't look it".

Nicole
 
That link is awesome!! I'll be printing it out right away, and that's true about the era, I ususally searh 60s mini or whatever - that's when I realized ALOT of items are missdated and I'd rather have a seller say - hmm, I'm not sure...than call it 50's when it's 80's - so I don't want to be that seller!! So thank you all again for helping me out so much on this journey - I wish I could buy you all latte's :)
 
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