Backless dress
Encyclopedia
A backless dress is a dress
designed to expose the wearer's back
. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dress
es and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt
-length to floor-length.
A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's neck
, halterneck
-style. The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's hair
, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by the use of spaghetti straps, which hold the dress up by the shoulders
. A stick-on dress or nude netting Olivia Wilde
using nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards: Front view and back view are other ways that a dress can be held up.
The amount of the back exposed by a backless dress can also vary, with some styles leaving the upper or upper and middle back uncovered, and exposing the shoulder blades. Some backless dresses plunge nearly to the buttocks.
Breast support is an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, especially for women with larger breast sizes. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras. Some bra designs can also be worn by women with larger cup sizes.
Backless evening and wedding dresses became popular in the 1920s.
A backless dress is a dress
designed to expose the wearer's back
. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dress
es and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt
-length to floor-length.
A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's neck
, halterneck
-style.Starpulse.com: AnnaLynne McCord
wearing a backless dress The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's hair
, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by the use of spaghetti straps, which hold the dress up by the shoulders
. A stick-on dress or nude netting Olivia Wilde
using nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards: Front view and back view are other ways that a dress can be held up.
The amount of the back exposed by a backless dress can also vary, with some styles leaving the upper or upper and middle back uncovered, and exposing the shoulder blades.Pink backless draped dress Some backless dresses plunge nearly to the buttocks.Plunging backless dress
Breast support is an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, especially for women with larger breast sizes. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras. Some bra designs can also be worn by women with larger cup sizes.Elan Image Consulting: A Great Bra for ‘Busty’ Women"Breakthrough Backless Bra"
Backless evening and wedding dresses became popular in the 1920s.
A backless dress is a dress
designed to expose the wearer's back
. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dress
es and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt
-length to floor-length.
A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's neck
, halterneck
-style.Starpulse.com: AnnaLynne McCord
wearing a backless dress The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's hair
, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by the use of spaghetti straps, which hold the dress up by the shoulders
. A stick-on dress or nude netting Olivia Wilde
using nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards: Front view and back view are other ways that a dress can be held up.
The amount of the back exposed by a backless dress can also vary, with some styles leaving the upper or upper and middle back uncovered, and exposing the shoulder blades.Pink backless draped dress Some backless dresses plunge nearly to the buttocks.Plunging backless dress
Breast support is an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, especially for women with larger breast sizes. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras. Some bra designs can also be worn by women with larger cup sizes.Elan Image Consulting: A Great Bra for ‘Busty’ Women"Breakthrough Backless Bra"
Backless evening and wedding dresses became popular in the 1920s.History In the 1930s, the style became associated with the sun tanning
fashions of the time, and the backless dress was a way of showing off a tan, usually without tan lines. The wearer usually had to be slim to be able to pull off the effect.1930s Fashion History
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
designed to expose the wearer's back
Human back
The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders...
. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dress
Wedding dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.- Western culture :...
es and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
-length to floor-length.
A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, halterneck
Halterneck
Halterneck is a style of strap which holds up women's clothing which features a single strap or material which runs from the front of the garment around the back of the wearer's neck, and which enables most of the wearer's back to be uncovered...
-style. The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by the use of spaghetti straps, which hold the dress up by the shoulders
Shoulders
Shoulders is drinking game that involves players competing in a fast paced game attempting to "count" to 21.-Game play:*The game begins with a player slapping his left/right shoulder, this starts the count at 1....
. A stick-on dress or nude netting Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
using nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards: Front view and back view are other ways that a dress can be held up.
The amount of the back exposed by a backless dress can also vary, with some styles leaving the upper or upper and middle back uncovered, and exposing the shoulder blades. Some backless dresses plunge nearly to the buttocks.
Breast support is an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, especially for women with larger breast sizes. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras. Some bra designs can also be worn by women with larger cup sizes.
Backless evening and wedding dresses became popular in the 1920s.
A backless dress is a dress
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
designed to expose the wearer's back
Human back
The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders...
. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dress
Wedding dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.- Western culture :...
es and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
-length to floor-length.
A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, halterneck
Halterneck
Halterneck is a style of strap which holds up women's clothing which features a single strap or material which runs from the front of the garment around the back of the wearer's neck, and which enables most of the wearer's back to be uncovered...
-style.Starpulse.com: AnnaLynne McCord
AnnaLynne McCord
AnnaLynne McCord is an American actress. Known for playing a range of vixen-type roles, McCord first gained prominence in 2007 as the scheming Eden Lord on the FX television series Nip/Tuck, and as the pampered Loren Wakefield on the MyNetworkTV telenovela American Heiress...
wearing a backless dress The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by the use of spaghetti straps, which hold the dress up by the shoulders
Shoulders
Shoulders is drinking game that involves players competing in a fast paced game attempting to "count" to 21.-Game play:*The game begins with a player slapping his left/right shoulder, this starts the count at 1....
. A stick-on dress or nude netting Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
using nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards: Front view and back view are other ways that a dress can be held up.
The amount of the back exposed by a backless dress can also vary, with some styles leaving the upper or upper and middle back uncovered, and exposing the shoulder blades.Pink backless draped dress Some backless dresses plunge nearly to the buttocks.Plunging backless dress
Breast support is an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, especially for women with larger breast sizes. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras. Some bra designs can also be worn by women with larger cup sizes.Elan Image Consulting: A Great Bra for ‘Busty’ Women"Breakthrough Backless Bra"
Backless evening and wedding dresses became popular in the 1920s.
A backless dress is a dress
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
designed to expose the wearer's back
Human back
The human back is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck and the shoulders. It is the surface opposite to the chest, its height being defined by the vertebral column and its breadth being supported by the ribcage and shoulders...
. A backless dress is most commonly worn on formal occasions or as evening wear or as wedding dress
Wedding dress
A wedding dress or wedding gown is the clothing worn by a bride during a wedding ceremony. Color, style and ceremonial importance of the gown can depend on the religion and culture of the wedding participants.- Western culture :...
es and can be of any length, from a haltertop to a miniskirt
Miniskirt
A miniskirt, sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, is a skirt with a hemline well above the knees – generally no longer than below the buttocks; and a minidress is a dress with a similar meaning...
-length to floor-length.
A backless dress can be held up in a number of ways. The most common is by a single piece of cloth or strap which passes behind the wearer's neck
Neck
The neck is the part of the body, on many terrestrial or secondarily aquatic vertebrates, that distinguishes the head from the torso or trunk. The adjective signifying "of the neck" is cervical .-Boner anatomy: The cervical spine:The cervical portion of the human spine comprises seven boney...
, halterneck
Halterneck
Halterneck is a style of strap which holds up women's clothing which features a single strap or material which runs from the front of the garment around the back of the wearer's neck, and which enables most of the wearer's back to be uncovered...
-style.Starpulse.com: AnnaLynne McCord
AnnaLynne McCord
AnnaLynne McCord is an American actress. Known for playing a range of vixen-type roles, McCord first gained prominence in 2007 as the scheming Eden Lord on the FX television series Nip/Tuck, and as the pampered Loren Wakefield on the MyNetworkTV telenovela American Heiress...
wearing a backless dress The neck strap can itself be covered by the wearer's hair
Hair
Hair is a filamentous biomaterial, that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the defining characteristics of the mammalian class....
, leaving the impression from behind that nothing is holding the dress up. Alternatively, the dress may be held up by short sleeves or by the use of spaghetti straps, which hold the dress up by the shoulders
Shoulders
Shoulders is drinking game that involves players competing in a fast paced game attempting to "count" to 21.-Game play:*The game begins with a player slapping his left/right shoulder, this starts the count at 1....
. A stick-on dress or nude netting Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde is an American actress and fashion model. She began acting in the early 2000s, and has since appeared in a number of film and television parts, including roles in the serial-drama The O.C. and The Black Donnellys. She portrayed Dr...
using nude netting dress at the Emmy Awards: Front view and back view are other ways that a dress can be held up.
The amount of the back exposed by a backless dress can also vary, with some styles leaving the upper or upper and middle back uncovered, and exposing the shoulder blades.Pink backless draped dress Some backless dresses plunge nearly to the buttocks.Plunging backless dress
Breast support is an issue for many women when wearing a backless dress, especially for women with larger breast sizes. Bra designs are available that offer breast support with backless dresses. Some bra designs use convertible styles, adhesive bras, underwire and strapless bras. Some bra designs can also be worn by women with larger cup sizes.Elan Image Consulting: A Great Bra for ‘Busty’ Women"Breakthrough Backless Bra"
Backless evening and wedding dresses became popular in the 1920s.History In the 1930s, the style became associated with the sun tanning
Sun tanning
Sun tanning or simply tanning is the process whereby skin color is darkened or tanned. The process is most often a result of exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun or from artificial sources, such as a tanning bed, but can also be a result of windburn or reflected light...
fashions of the time, and the backless dress was a way of showing off a tan, usually without tan lines. The wearer usually had to be slim to be able to pull off the effect.1930s Fashion History