Ah, the shift dress. Every girl's closet contains at least one, or it should, and it’s most commonly worn to brunches or dinners to hide food babies and keep us comfortable. No one enjoys clingy hems or waistlines. Shift dresses are a classic look and are the easiest way to look absolutely adorable without trying too hard. They’re flattering, easy to move in, and versatile beyond belief. Throw on a few accessories, some cute shoes and you look like a million bucks. Not only is the shift dress cute, but it embodies a powerful time in culture for women.

If you look at pictures from centuries ago of women's fashion, most of them show tight corsets, large skirts, and bold waistlines. The 20th century introduced more gender-friendly clothing. More specifically, the rise of the 1920s changed this for women all around the world. The roaring 20s were filled with some of the best fashion I think I’ve ever seen. Flapper dresses, sequins, fringe and feathered headbands were all the rage, changing the comfort of women's style for the better. The passing of the 19th amendment to establish women's suffrage meant freedom for females everywhere in more aspects than just voting. Women were beginning to get jobs outside of their homes, men and women were gaining the same rights, and feminism was on the rise! The parties of this era reflected the freedom and empowerment women were gaining! It was a beautiful time that was reflected in beautiful clothing.

Upon this change, women's looks were not being sacrificed for comfort and more designers began to pick up on this. The shift dress was taken in by designers and morphed into a staple item for every woman's closet. Among these designers were Christian Dior, Hubert de Givenchy, Cristobal Balenciaga and Lilly Pulitzer. After the 1920s came the Great Depression, which made these lavish dresses evolve into more ready-to-wear pieces that weren't so luxurious. Designers made this transition as elegant as possible and created some monumental pieces. For instance, Audrey Hepburn's iconic dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's was a shift dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy. Shift dresses were popping up in every boutique and department store around the United States.

In 1961, John F. Kennedy was elected president and took on the White House with his first lady Jacqueline Kennedy. Jacqueline Kennedy quickly became a fashion icon of the 1960s. One of Jacqueline's friends from school was Lilly Pulitzer. Lilly was a young girl who had just eloped to Palm Beach with the wealthy Peter Pulitzer and she decided to open up a juice stand with former Harper's Bazaar editor, Laura Robbins. Her juice stand quickly began leaving stains on all of her light clothing, so she fixed this issue by designing shift dresses she could comfortably wear at her juice stand with brightly colored floral patterns to blend in with the stains. Lilly and Jacqueline kept in contact and Jacqueline began wearing Lilly's designs, the first being made from an old curtain! Jacqueline Kennedy was seen wearing one of Lilly’s dresses on the cover of Life Magazine and, with that, the classic shift dress took off. Shift dresses became a piece every woman owned, wore and loved.

Today, shift dresses are one of my favorite things to wear. I’m a girl on the go and wearing clothes that make me uncomfortable is out of the question. I own a few Lilly

dresses and many other brands' take on shift dresses. Not only do these dresses make me feel fabulous, but I love wearing something that at one point was a symbol of progress for women's equality. Shift dresses will forever be a staple in my closet.