Cotton Dress, 1956
Donated by Louise Steffen

Many great fashion houses, shuttered during World War II, reopened in the late 1940s to fill the needs of style-hungry women. Working tough jobs for the war effort, along with a shortage of silk and the hard lines of military styling, put fashion on the back burner.

In 1947, Christian Dior introduced a dress with a nipped-in waist, voluminous skirt and exuberant bustline. Immediately dubbed "the New Look," the style was embraced by fashion mavens and housewives alike. This blue cotton dress presents a fresh, airy look, just right for coffee with a neighbor or a church social. Though not directly out of a Parisian design house, this dress demonstrates the trickling down of high fashion to every woman. Even a small girl would likely wear a miniature version of her mother's dress.