Wrapped Versus Wrap: Simplicity 8876
A wrap or stole is both versatile and in need of some looking after. The Dress Doctors recommended it only for the sophisticated woman of thirty or more years, and not the overly energetic even older than that. A kind of draped dressing, a wrap can be hugged closely around the neck and shoulders for warmth or allowed to flow off the shoulders in a more romantic look. But it must be handled to work well.
Attached wraps, as you see here, and shaped wraps showed up especially in the 1950s, although they clearly started in the late 1940s when the romantic New Look of Christian Dior with nipped waist, soft shoulders, large hiplines, and long skirts triumphed in 1947. The attached wrap takes away some of the complications of handling a stole as its movement is controlled via the garment itself. Here the wrap is attached at the front, goes around the shoulder and is then tucked under itself. It creates a flexible draping, which is easier to make than a draped feature that must be fitted to the shoulders. You could leave it loose, for example.
On the other hand, like any strapless dress, the bodice must be fitted carefully as you are trying to defy gravity. The wrap-less version in the print fabric dress has the same structure. Both dress bodices are interfaced, then boned, and lined, with an inner ribbon waist stay; in short, a structure is built up from the waistline to the neckline. While the asymmetrical balance from side to side signals that this is a party look, the big, shaped hip pockets seem to need the attached wrap to balance the dress from top to bottom, and since this one is not that hard to handle, why not add it?
They suggest everything from crisp taffeta to crepe, but realize the softer fabrics may need a bit more support--perhaps a crispy underlining?--in order to keep the bodice well-structured.
You can find it at your local fabric store or online here: https://simplicity.com/simplicity/s8876
