Please, before we begin, abandon those thoughts of terry towelling, we are not talking about bathrobes here! A dressing gown is quite a different animal all together from that of the ill-fitting, shapeless, shin length, towelling bathrobe that so many people will refer to presently as a ‘dressing gown’.

A dressing gown is, as the name implies, a gown that is adorned whilst in the process of dressing, it is much more elegant than its terry towelling substitute. A dressing gown should accentuate a woman’s femininity, a woman in a dressing gown should instantly feel glamorous, elegant, confident and comfortable, the gown should accentuate her curves whilst covering her modesty, an intoxicating combination of allure and suspense!

Once a garment that was restricted to the most private of occasions, the dressing gown finally saw its limelight in the 1950s when this chic and sleek boudoir attire was catapulted into the Hollywood spotlight. Elegant satin gowns became the chosen, favoured attire of the silver screen sirens both on and off the sets.

The most iconic leading ladies such as Mary Nolan, Jean Harlow, Elaine Stewart, Dolores Costello and Rita Hayworth would always have a dressing gown close to hand. The dressing gown came to represent the glamour that epitomized Hollywood throughout those silver screen years.

So when choosing a valentines gift for the leading lady in your life, what more appropriate gift could there possibly be than a salute to the original Hollywood screen sirens?

In the 1950s clothing for women exuded femininity. This was a time that followed the great depression and women craved luxurious fabrics and clothing that accentuated their figures. Hour glass shapes and figure hugging designs became all the rage.

During dinner parties and gatherings throughout the 60s and 70s, liberated women would commonly entertain guests at home whilst wearing their dressing gowns, this communicated a confident, comfortable woman.

So now we fast-forward to today, a time when the re-emergence of Hollywood glamour, vintage chic and all things retro can be observed. On the runways of every fashion show in recent times you will find subtle salutes to the 1950s glamour and style, it is everywhere.

Last year many red carpets were graced with stunning, floor length satin gowns that remarkably resembled the style of a dressing gown. A floor length wrap around dress (or indeed dressing gown) is unquestionably glamorous. The popularity of the wrap dress, is in part due to its effortless ease and comfort of wear but also because of the flattering effect that a wrap has on the female shape, hugging a woman’s curves. A wrap style is a dress with a front closure that is created by literally wrapping one side across the other and either buttoning or tying the two into a knot or bow. A wrap highlights the feminine form yet flatters most figures.

At TheDressingGown.com you will find a collection of dressing gowns that have been inspired by Hollywood glamour, produced in the finest fabrics of the day – rich slipper satins, rayon crepe and the finest jacquards. The designs have been reconstructed for today’s generation combining effortless ease, comfort and durability with sassy, elegance and femininity. Like the silver screen stars that inspired them, these dressing gowns are destined to seduce and dazzle.

In the words of Dorothy Parker, American satirist and poet :

‘Where’s the man could ease a heart like a satin gown…’

(The Satin Dress, Poems by Dorothy Parker, 1926