Wrap dresses are business wear made of cotton or wool, fastened with buttons or a zipper and often come with a belt. They were popular in the 1960s and 1970s and have evolved to include various styles and colors. In the 1980s, the coat dress became boxier and less tailored, but by the early 2000s, the sleeveless wrap dress had gone out of style.
A wrap dress is a dress that fastens in the front or back with buttons or a zipper and may also have a belt to hold the waist. These dresses also resemble coats in their heavier fabric, as they are usually made of cotton to resemble a trench coat or wool to resemble a sweater. They are considered more a part of business wear than formal or casual wear, and often serve as a popular alternative to pantsuits for women who work in an office. In addition to coming in a wide variety of styles and lengths, wrap dresses are also available in a wide variety of colors, though they’re most common in neutrals like beige, black, and white.
During the 1960s, tweed wrap dresses that came in pastel colors and zipped up the back were a common component of a stylish woman’s wardrobe. While some of these were collarless, others featured a round “Peter Pan” collar, sometimes embellished with velvet trim and large round buttons. During the 1970s, Mary Tyler Moore popularized the wrap dress as the uniform of the freelance working woman on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Also during the 1970s, this style of clothing was a popular pattern often appearing in the catalogs of major sewing pattern companies.
In the 1980s, the standard coat dress became boxier and less tailored, reflecting the style of women’s blazers at the time. Often with rolled sleeves and shoulder pads, this style of dress was rarely cinched at the waist, and was usually worn with leggings or stirrup pants. The 1990s saw a more form-fitting way of dressing return to the forefront of fashion, most often sleeveless and with oversized “Butterfly” collars.
By the early 2000s, the sleeveless wrap dress had gone out of style and been replaced by the three-quarter sleeve or short sleeved dress with a more modest collar. Additional details, such as crisscross, embroidery, ruching, and epaulettes also appeared on various dresses at this time.
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