Baby Doll Dress

The saying that history repeats itself is true in many areas. Part of this is human nature and our longing to be different than the generation before us. There is something that seems to be inbred in us to want to shock the older generation by being different than they are in our speech, dress and hair styles. When I look back to when the Beatles came to the United States and they were considered long haired rebels. By today standards they appear to be clean cut gentlemen. The loose, wild women of the sixties were modestly dressed compared to the low rider pants and mid-drift thin strapped tanks that are popular today.

Some of the fashions of the sixties and seventies are finding their way back to our younger generation. The baby doll dress of yesteryear often had puffed sleeves and smocking detail in the bodice very similar to dresses that babies wore. They fell to a few inches above the knee. Often times the fabric that the baby doll dresses were made from were pastel colored or very small flowered prints. The modern version of the baby doll dress is often sleeveless. The fabrics are solid colors and the material is often layered chiffon or similar soft sheer material. The modern version of this fashion is being worn more for evening wear by women in their late twenties and early thirties. It is amazing to me that a dress made from such an innocent pattern can be so sexy. The dress is not revealing like many of the different evening fashions, but the way the fabric floats and the little girl playfulness is quite charming on the right woman. 

Unfortunately whenever a fashion style or cut of clothing becomes popular there are many older women that feel they have to join in wearing them. There are times when I suspect that there are some women that are actually recycling their own clothing from years past. I remember hearing some advice from a designer on a fashion show. He stated that just because you can wear something, or in other words just because something fits, it does not mean you need to buy it. His other piece if you wore mini skirts the first time they were popular, you are two old to be wearing them this time around. I am positive he would say the same thing about the baby doll dress. You wore the dresses as a younger women you should not consider wearing them again.