The Rise and Fall of Wrap Dresses: From Closet Staple to Thrift Store Find
In the world of fashion, trends come and go with the seasons. What was once a must-have item in every woman’s closet can quickly become a relic of the past. This seems to be the case with wrap dresses, a style that was once a staple but is now finding its way into thrift stores across the country.
According to Kathleen Martin, a thrifting enthusiast from Columbus, Ohio, wrap dresses are now a common sight in thrift stores, especially those with a 2010s business casual vibe. The slinky fabric and ditsy prints that were once so popular are now being overlooked, with some stores even mislabeling them as robes instead of dresses.
Danielle Vermeer, the CEO of a thrifting app called Teleport, shared her own experience of finding a Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress for just $5 at a secondhand store. She later consigned it for $40, a fraction of the price of a new DVF wrap dress today. Vermeer believes that the shift in office dress codes post-pandemic has contributed to the decline in popularity of wrap dresses, as workplaces become more casual and employees seek to express their personal style.
Allison Bornstein, a stylist who helps people identify their personal style, has a theory about why younger people may be turning away from wrap dresses. She suggests that the association with the “Girlboss” era of the 2010s, when ambitious young women embraced corporate feminism, may be a turn-off for a new generation of fashion-conscious individuals.
Despite their fall from grace, some fashion enthusiasts like Vermeer still appreciate the chic and easy-to-wear nature of wrap dresses. Whether they’re browsing thrift stores for a vintage find or splurging on a new designer piece, the allure of the wrap dress seems to endure, even as its popularity wanes in mainstream fashion circles.
