Ok, I have this character, and I keep picturing her in this particular dress. It is 1972. She is 16 years old, living in small town America. The dress is a soft blue floral print, cotton (not polyester, because I just can’t put her in polyester), very short with long sleeves, and–this is the important part–it has a white collar and white cuffs. I can picture this collar in my mind, I have done image searches online, and the closest I can get is something called a chelsea collar.*
What’s driving me crazy is I swear I can remember this style of dress from this time period. They were always either very short or maxi length, and they were dress-up dresses for church or special occasions. But, I can’t seem to find anything to confirm my memory. I’ve checked old catalogs, including one from 1972. I’ve done image searches for 1972 fashions (and seen all kinds of errors). I’ve looked at Brady Bunch stills. Nothing.
So, could someone who was possibly older than 7 in 1972 tell me if this dress would make sense? It’s ok if the dress would have been a little outdated at the time, because the character might have received it as a hand-me-down.
*Alternatively, picture something like the original Wednesday Addams dress, only not black and with a slightly larger collar.
If you look up images of Gunne Sax dresses, does that work for you? My sisters and I loved those in the mid 70s. It looks like it launched in the late 60s, so that works for your timeframe.
I can’t remember 1972 but I can remember watching the Brady Bunch on TBS after school in the 90s. The style you described definitely pinged my BB radar. It’s obviously a different color/pattern, but I think this is the style you’re looking for?
Yeah, you’re about a decade off. So either your girl is very poor and getting handmedowns from MUCH older siblings or cousins, or she’s purposefully trying to either be “old-fashioned” or “unfashionable” (they are two different things, to me).
Or her mother is the one purchasing her clothes still, and those moddish dresses from the 60s are about as modern as she’s willing to get for “dressy” school or church clothes which are still supposed to be modest and somewhat classy in silhouette.
Or, you can just set your story anywhere from 6-10 years earlier and be right on the fashionable nose, depending on how “small-town” and out of fashion the whole town could be.
For the time period specified, the “Sizzler” dress is probably the closest match. Those things were borderline obscene, extremely short with matching undies that were intended to juuuuust show below the hem. My parents flatly refused to allow me to wear them so I had to make do with ridiculously short cutoff jeans.
I remember that look! It was widely worn in the early 1970s, and 1972 is a good year to situate it in. Begging to disagree with Lasciel, but it wasn’t even close to being out of style yet. The look that you and I are thinking of was specific to young girls and it can definitely work for a 16 year old in a small town in 1972. The suggestions of adult dresses, some of them sexy, miss the mark because it was a girl thing. I was 13 in 1972; I know whereof I speak.
Wow, I am glad this is still getting replies! I have become convinced that the dress wouldn’t be an anachronism for a small town girl (my main fear was that it would be too fashion-forward). Thank you all for your input.
