Bow Cocktail Dresses

More info About Cocktail Dress

Prior to the mid 20th century this type of dress was known as 'late afternoon'. When gentlemen are in business suits, ladies also wear dress suits or "good" afternoon skirt and dresses.

By the 1980s the criteria by which a garment was considered a cocktail dress was not its length, but its level of sumptuousness.

In the mid-20th century, some couturiers began describing full-skirted cocktail gowns as "dancing costumes". These are suitable for formal dances but not for balls, or other white tie affairs, where bows are worn.