sheath dress

File:Egyptian - Female Tomb Figure - Walters 2215.jpg

Originating in the ancient world, the sheath dress is commonly seen in Egyptian art. Presented as slender and youthful, artistic renditions of the women in the garment were common prior to the New Kingdom. Although there was no archeological evidence of a sheath dress among the elite, women and deities are shown wearing the garment in tomb drawings. The garment was often presented with a seam under the breast and with beads. Ancient depictions of elite women showed the dress paired with the tripartite wig and vulture headdress. With archaeologists finding nearly twenty dresses of the ancient Egyptian world, there is no record of the dress ever existing in reality. Instead, scholars have hypothesized that the sheath dress as we know it were wrap dresses with straps, skirts, or a V neck dress.{{cite book|last1=Condra|first1=Jill|title=The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Clothing Through World History: Prehistory to 1500CE|date=2008|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|page=36}}

The Princess Sheath dress was popular between 1878 and 1880. It was associated with the Princess of Wales, later known as Queen Alexandra. The Princess sheath is constructed with the bodice and skirt cut in one with a gored skirt. The dress was worn without a bustle but with a small pad. To tighten the front of the dress, ribbons were attached in the back's interior.{{cite book|last1=Nunn|first1=Joan|title=Fashion in Costume, 1200-2000|date=200|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|pages=153}}

File:Sleeveless beige crepe sheath dress by Joset Walker, 1948.jpg (1948)]]During the early 1900s, Americans were still looking to Paris for the latest trends. American socialites traveled to Europe to view collections and receive custom outfits. Paul Poiret is credited as the first designer of the modern sheath dress. In doing so, he also created a rubber girdle as an alternative to the boned corset to wear under the dress.{{cite book|last1=De Montebello|first1=Philippe|title=Notable Acquisitions, 1982-1983|date=1983|publisher=The Metropolitan Museum of Art|location=New York|pages=43}} In great contrast to the emphasized curves of Victorian era and earlier dress, the sheath dress offered a sleek look that revealed the legs and lower torso with a slit.{{cite book|last1=Blaszczyk|first1=Regina Lee|title=Producing Fashion: Commerce, Culture, and Consumers|date=2008|publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|pages=132, 133}} The style of the sheath dress reached the United States in 1908. That fall, the musical Bandanna Land included the song "Sheath Gown in Darktown", whose chorus mentions a "sheath gown":{{cite book|last1=Schweitzer|first1=Marlis|title=When Broadway Was the Runway|chapter=Fashioning the Modern Woman |date=2007|pages=138–177 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press|jstor=j.ctt3fhc6x.7|isbn=9780812221633 }}

:

Oh there's trouble down in Old Darktown,

Since Bella came with that sheath gown,

Imported walk and smile, and all that foreign style,

And all the girls are badly hurt as they watch her flirt that see-more skirt.

The sheath gown it's got Darktown, and will hold it for a while.

By the 1950s, the sheath dress became the modern look for American women. In 1950, Christian Dior introduced the "Vertical Line". The line catered to a woman's body and her curves in comparison to previous years. From the line, Vogue called the sheath dress the "most important single day fashion".{{cite book|last1=Hill|first1=Daniel Delis|title=As Seen in Vogue: A Century of American Fashion in Advertising|date=2007|publisher=Texas Tech University Press}} In 1956, a girdle sales manager remarked “The sheath paid for my house in Westport.”{{cite book|last1=Przybyszewski|first1=Linda|title=The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish|date=2014|publisher=Basic Books|page=32|isbn=9780465080472}} Pattern companies sold sheath cuts up to size 22 ½ and 41 inch bust size. The dress was referred to as “the slim look for five o’clock on”. For a casual look, the sheath dress was matched with a short sleeve print bolero. As a business attire, a box jacket when over the bolero as well as the dress.{{cite book|last1=Przybyszewski|first1=Linda|title=The Lost Art of Dress: The Women Who Once Made America Stylish}} As the cut of the dress became easier to construct, textures were added to the dress such as beads.{{cite journal|last1=McGarvey|first1=Elsie Siratz|last2=Carnahan|first2=Mary|title=The Fashion Wing|journal=Philadelphia Museum of Art Bulletin|date=1961|volume=57|issue=271|pages=6|doi=10.2307/3795109 |jstor=3795109 }}

One of the most notable sheath dresses of all time is the black Givenchy dress of Audrey Hepburn. In 1961, Hepburn wore a Hubert de Givenchy black sheath dress in the film Breakfast at Tiffany's. By this time, her dress became known as the little black dress.{{cite book|editor1-last=Miller|editor1-first=Jacqui|title=Fan Phenomena: Audrey Hepburn|date=2014|publisher=Intellect Books|location=United Kingdom|pages=49}} On May 19, 1962, Marilyn Monroe sang happy birthday to then president John F. Kennedy for his 45th birthday. At the event, Monroe wore a Jean Louis sheath dress that is described as "skin and beads". The dress was made nude toned, backless, and clad with crystals.{{cite book|last1=Miller|first1=Jennifer Jean|title=Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio - Love In Japan, Korea & Beyond|date=Feb 14, 2014|publisher=J.J. Avenue Productions|location=New Jersey}} Monroe was sewn into the dress for a tight fit. In 2016, the Jean Louis design sold for $4.8 million.{{cite magazine|last1=Kreps|first1=Daniel|title=Marilyn Monroe's 'Happy Birthday, Mr. President' Dress Sells for $4.8 Million|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/marilyn-monroes-kennedy-dress-sells-for-48-million-w451526|magazine=Rolling Stone}}

In recent years, the sheath dress is worn as a cocktail dress. The pattern can also be seen worn on brides as sheath dresses are popular as wedding dresses; the style is recommended for slim brides who are either tall or petite.{{cite book |url=https://vintagelifestyle.com/the-iconic-evolution-of-the-alluring-1950s-dress/ |title=The Iconic Evolution of the alluring 1950s Dress |date=2024 |publisher=VintageLifestyle |editor1-last=Rosie |location=USA |pages=1 |language=English |editor2-last=Miller }}

File:MET Museum Sheath Dress by James Galanos.jpg|1959 Sheath Dress by James Galanos

File:Costume- fanciful, historical, and theatrical (1906) (14596508838).jpg|Portrait of an Egyptian dancer

File:CNN's Campbell Brown.jpg|Campbell Brown of CNN in a sheath dress

• Cocktail dress

This article presents a primarily Eurocentric view of this fashion. Excluding the dress in Ancient Egyptian art, missing from this article is the sheath dress in Eastern, Latin, and African cultures.

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Category:Dresses

Category:History of fashion