Around the turn of the century, an evening wrap had a very utilitarian purpose: To protect a lady`s decolletage during the frigid carriage ride to the big event. Some wraps were lined with squirrel fur and almost covered the wearer`s ears, according to Susan Samek, associate curator of the Chicago Historical Society`s costume department.
Today, a woman may still drape herself in something substantial to ward off a frigid draft of air conditioning. But more likely, she wraps to accessorize.
”It`s like jewelry,” local designer Maria Pinto says of her whimsically extravagant evening wraps, made from materials like silk tulle lined with peacock feathers.
Wraps are also very sexy-no woman can help but feel at least a little exotic and mysterious wearing one. A sheer organza wrap by Chicago designer Shawn Martin both exposes and cloaks, which, he says, sends the unspoken message that ”the woman can choose what she wants to reveal, and when she wants to reveal it.”
”A minimum of sheer coverage is more sensual than total skin exposure,” says Pinto. It`s a fashion principle she saw employed to great effect during a stint as an assistant in the New York design room of evening-wear master Geoffrey Beene.
Barbie wrapped
The last heyday for evening wraps was the 1950s and early `60s, says Samek. Baby Boomers may recall their mothers and Barbie dolls wearing evening ensembles with matching stoles.
Martin says it`s that kind of retro glamor that inspires him. He adds, however, that his coats (which he will make in black moire for fall) could also be worn over an outfit as contemporary as ”a sexy bra top and jeans.”
But for some women, fashion precedence doesn`t make the concept of an evening wrap any easier to grasp. Pinto says she occasionally encounters a client who, accustomed to fitted suits and tailored sportswear, tries on a wrap and wails, ”What do I do with this? It keeps slipping off.”
Finally, Pinto came up with an answer: An Italian chiffon wrap with built-in elastic wrist bands so the wearer can moor it securely to her body. ”I call it my cocoon wrap,” she says.
