Granny dress

Late 1960s pink and purple cotton print dress by Laura Ashley with fringed shoulder bag

A granny dress was a long one-piece gown or dress that was popular with young women in the United States and Britain in the mid-1960s to the 1970s. Granny dresses were loose-fitting and often printed with light or pastel colors. They had a vaguely Victorian-era feel to them.

About

Granny dresses had a high neckline and the hems were ankle length.[1] They could also be decorated with buttons, lace, ruffles and may display leg-of-mutton sleeves.[2] As the trend continued, the hemline of the dress could also end just above the knees.[3][4] The dress became more sophisticated by the late 1960s.[5] The dresses were also inexpensive.[6]

The look was part of a greater neo-Victorian trend.[3][2] A Life magazine spread featured Ringo Starr with a model wearing a crocheted granny dress and which also featured women in Victorian-like settings.[7] The style reminded people of a simpler, less complicated time.[8]

The trend was also firmly situated in the youth movement.[9] It tended to be associated with both mod and hippie groups.[2] The granny dress offered an alternative to mini dresses and were a symbol of rebellion.[10] Girls talked about it taking "nerve" to wear such an old-fashioned style.[11]

History

Granny dresses are most often associated with the designer, Laura Ashley, who started selling these dresses to women in the Welsh countryside in the late 1950s.[2] The trend made it to the United States where it was embraced in California and then moved eastward.[6][1][12] Granny dress parties and dances were held.[13][14]

One account credits the creation of the dress to designer, George Wilner, who worked at Mr. Aref of California.[15] Wilner based his design on a calico dress that a retailer from Glendale showed him.[16] Wilner adapted the calico dress design to be more of an empire-style, similar to dresses worn by Empress Josephine.[16] An article describing the "new craze" credited the origin to Los Angeles.[17]

An apocryphal story about the origin of the dress was that it came into fashion after a dancer was told by a television disc jockey that her dress was too short.[18] In response, the dancer found a floor-length dress to wear and started a fashion craze.[18] Another apocryphal origin story had an old woman wearing such a dress on a tour of "night spots" in Los Angeles.[19] The woman's youthful vigor "attracted attention" and a designer, believing her style of dress helped her stay active, copied her dress design.[19]

Granny dresses have also been popular in various regions in Egypt in the 1980s.[20][21][22]

In the 1990s, there was a brief resurgence of the dress at the same time grunge was popular.[23] This time, granny dresses were considered any kind of loose-fitting frock and could be paired with nearly any accessory.[23]

Controversy

Students wearing granny dresses to school were suspended or sent home. In Oakland in 1965, girls were sent home for wearing granny dresses.[24] In Kansas City, Missouri, a mother wore her own granny dress to school in an attempt to convince the principal to allow her daughter to wear one.[25] In Trumansburg, New York, in 1966, three sisters were suspended from school for wearing the dress.[26] The school's attorney claimed that both safety and possible class disruption were the reasons the dress was banned.[26] The principal of the school felt that there was a danger of tripping on stairs because of the length of the dresses.[26] Laura M. Lorraine, dean of the Analy Union High School also thought the length of the dresses made them difficult for walking up stairs.[27] The school attorney felt that granny dresses were "extreme" and may encourage students to adopt other extreme forms of dressing.[26] In some cases, school authorities just stated that it wasn't "suitable school attire."[27] In 1966, a Dear Abby column featured a letter from a girl who was sent to the principal's office for wearing a granny dress.[28]

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 "The Granny Dress". Hartford Courant. 1966-03-13. p. 48. Retrieved 2018-01-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Smith, Dina C. (2015). "Granny dress". In Blanco F., Jose; Doering, Mary D. Clothing and Fashion: American Fashion from Head to Toe. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 135. ISBN 9781610693103.
  3. 1 2 Livingstone, Evelyn (1965-09-27). "Granny Dresses: Some Are Short". Chicago Tribune. p. 37. Retrieved 2018-01-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Shorty Granny the Next Rage?". Standard-Speaker. 1966-04-07. p. 9. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ Robbins 1997, p. 54.
  6. 1 2 Hennessy, Helen (1965-12-03). "Granny Look is New Teenage Fad". The Corpus Christi Caller-Times. p. 25. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  7. ↑ "Captivating Comeback for Crochet". Life. 57 (18). 30 October 1964.
  8. ↑ English, Bonnie (2013). A Cultural History of Fashion in the 20th and 21st Centuries: From Catwalk to Sidewalk. A&C Black. p. 103. ISBN 9780857851369.
  9. ↑ "Meet the Granny Dress". Chicago Tribune. 1965-09-27. p. 36. Retrieved 2018-01-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Robbins 1997, p. 46.
  11. ↑ Riedley, Mary Phyllis (1965-12-12). "But For Teen-Agers Here Granny's Too Far Out". The Courier-Journal. p. 80. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  12. ↑ "Young Grannies". The Sedalia Democrat. 1965-12-07. p. 7. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "'Granny Dress' Dance at YMCA Saturday". Rapid City Journal. 1966-02-18. p. 2. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Frederick, Virginia (1966). "Salinan Will Be Flying Down to Rio". The Salina Journal. p. 8. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Orfalea, Gregory (2005). "Arab Americans". In Buenker, John D.; Ratner, Lorman. Multiculturalism in the United States : a comparative guide to acculturation and ethnicity. Westport, Connecticut: Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press. p. 51. ISBN 0313324042 – via Internet Archive. (Registration required (help)).
  16. 1 2 Orfalea, Gregory (2009). Angeleno Days: An Arab American Writer on Family, Place, and Politics. University of Arizona Press. p. 14. ISBN 9780816527731.
  17. ↑ Lloyd, Pat (1965-10-02). "Dress Soars Across USA". Pensacola News Journal. p. 10. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. 1 2 McLamb, Kinnon (1965-11-04). "Men, It's Time to Organize". The Daily Times-News. p. 19. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. 1 2 Rice, Basil (1965-10-02). "Just Blame It On Granny". Pensacola News Journal. p. 10. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Rugh 1986, p. 19.
  21. ↑ Rugh 1986, p. 26.
  22. ↑ Rugh 1986, p. 29.
  23. 1 2 Givhan, Robin D. (13 May 1993). "Granny Style: Mix These Breezy Dresses With Just About Anything". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  24. ↑ Umphress, Bob (1965-10-07). "Granny Made the Dress Too Long for School". Oakland Tribune. p. 13. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.
  25. ↑ "Maxi Dress Inspires Mini Fuss". The Santa Fe New Mexican. 1970-09-23. p. 20. Retrieved 2018-01-26 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. 1 2 3 4 Peck, John (1966-03-07). "Granny Dressers Suspended; One Accepted Back in 'Proper' Attire". The Ithaca Journal. p. 9. Retrieved 2018-01-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. 1 2 "Granny Dress Fad is a Young Set Favorite". The Press Democrat. 1965-11-21. p. 21. Retrieved 2018-01-25 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ↑ Van Buren, Abigail (1966). "Granny Dress Out!". The Lawton Constitution. p. 5. Retrieved 2018-01-25 – via Newspapers.com.

Sources

  • Robbins, Trina (1997). Tomorrow's Heirlooms: Fashions of the 60s and 70s. Atglen, Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0764303546 – via Internet Archive. (Registration required (help)).
  • Rugh, Andrea B. (1986). Reveal and Conceal: Dress in Contemporary Egypt. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815623687.
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