The cocktail dress, now a staple of modern attire, began its life in the 1920s, when women attending parties with illegal alcohol needed something to wear that was festive, but less formal than an outfit that would be worn to a dinner. These early cocktail dresses resembled the flapper dresses of the time and were knee-length, made of fine fabrics and often heavily decorated.

How did the somewhat risqué cocktail dress of the 1920s morph into today's pretty, semi-casual, yet polite evening wear?

By the 1930s, the cocktail dress became more elegant, with more staid styles being invoked for an older crowd (all women were now part of cocktail culture). This decade saw the rise of the little black dress, and like today, it differentiated itself through cut and style, as well as quality. It was one clothing item no sophisticated woman could do without.

In the 1940s, the cocktail dress was largely a moot issue because of the war, but then became more exotic and varied as returning soldier brought goods and fashion influences, including those from Asian, back home with them.

The 1950s, however, were the true age of the cocktail, with a range of styles for women that were very body conscious. Cocktail parties and dressing for them became the height of fashion, both in public and in private.

In the 1960s, cocktail parties and the clothes worn to them became more casual. Fabrics used in cocktail dresses were less relentlessly expensive, and clothes often had a simple and more casual cut. In many cases, pants even became an option. As having a drink became more acceptable and less of a special event, the cocktail party faded from prominence in some ways.

In the ensuing decades, the cocktail party became a moniker for dressy events that were not formal, and the cocktail dress became shorthand for a festive, knee-length dress, usually worn by women who want to look great, but not over-the-top, for events like office parties and class reunions.