Romantic Blushes and Champagnes Dominate the Met Gala Red Carpet

By the late 1940s, women craved a return to glamor and designers obliged with swirling skirts and shimmering evening gowns inspired by film stars like Ingrid Bergman, Barbara Stanwyck and Joan Crawford.

In 1947, French couturier Christian Dior almost single-handedly brought an end to wartime austerity with a fashion line observers christened the New Look. Severe angles were replaced with curves, hemlines dropped back below the knee and skirts were generously draped. Structured undergarments were key to the New Look, which featured broad shoulders, cinched waists, emphasized bust lines and padded hips. The pencil skirt was a figure-hugging alternative to bouffant skirts. Men, too, longed for freedom from conservative tailoring in khaki and olive drab. They found relief in wide-legged trousers, full-length coats and suits in an array of colors. Both mens and womens trousers featured higher waists, widely cut legs and cuffs and came in textured tweeds and jewel tones.

The New Look met with protest from women who had grown accustomed to baring their legs and were disinclined to cover them back up. Moreover, the opulent, fabric-rich designs seemed wasteful in contrast to wartime fabric restrictions. The desire for change prevailed, however, and the look flourished throughout much of the 1950s.