The 1950s mid-to-late 1950s
The Wiggle Dress
A close-fitting, knee-length sheath that narrowed toward the hem, forcing the short, mincing steps that gave it its name.
The wiggle dress is where the decade's silhouette really tightens up. Where the New Look's full skirts dominated the early '50s, by mid-decade the shape narrows into something sleeker and more body-conscious - a hem that tapers rather than flares.
I still think it's one of the most underrated shapes of the era. It needed real structure underneath to hold its line, which is part of why I keep coming back to it in the construction entries too.