These seven young ladies signal the final step in the 10-year evolution of fashion: the short dress for fomal wear. The first street-length dinner dress since the '20s appeared in 1942 amid blackouts and taxi shortages. From this practical beginning the renegade formal fashion grew steadily among owners of the world's best dressed feet and legs. Now the short dress is moving in on the last stronghold of the floor-length skirt, the ball gown.
Done in rich fabrics and lavishly decorated, short ball gowns stop a good 12-inches from the floor. Examples above are by top designers and come with a high price tag.
Foreruners of the fashion in this photograph by Nina Leen are from left: bare-shouldered satin with shirred sleeves (Ceil Chapman, 125$); silver-spangled halter top with 100 yards of net skirt (Traina Norell, 650$); jeweled taffeta dress and stole (Wilson Folmar, 245$) worn with Evins' strapped sandals; flower-ladden tulle made to order by Lilly Dache (about 650$); satin crusted with pearls and blown glass beads (Anna Miller, 250$); red lace with sequined bodice (Larry Aldrich, 155$) worn with Vogue matching rhinestone chockers; pouffed-skirt grown of gold gauze from Hattie Carnegie's custom collection.
photos and documentation: LIFE Magazine (US) | Zetu Harrys collection
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