Call it what you will – the sheer naissance, sheer-volution or even the she-era – but it is clear (if you will pardon the pun) that sheer dresses – or naked dresses – not going anywhere.
The double perspective on translucent clothing
What was once exclusively the domain of the young, thin and provocative has now become so ubiquitous that it’s hard to believe it still causes so much condemnation and moralizing.
Fashion houses like Saint Laurent, Valentino, Chloé, Gucci and Nina Ricci have made the look their trademark, with sheer tulle or fishnet lace offering a glimpse of the body beneath, while celebrities like Dakota Johnson, Florence Pugh, Kendall Jenner, Daisy Edgar Jones and Rosie Huntington Whiteley have sworn their allegiance to the ‘naked’ dress.
The text continues below the photo.
Why are ‘naked dresses’ considered cool but also cheap?
But when a famous woman is photographed in a so-called ‘naked dress’in addition to the admiration from fashion lovers like us, there is almost always the same old negative reaction from the general public. A cursory look at the reactions to a newspaper article about the trend of translucent dresses is a good test of society’s view of these dresses.
‘Tasteless and cheap’, ‘Attention-grabbing… and not the right kind’ and ‘It’s sexier to leave something to the imagination’ – there’s no shortage of opinions.
The text continues below the photo.
The misogyny is not surprising. After all, the decision to wear a see-through dress is, to varying degrees, a political statement. It is at least one empowerment-action that one is a celebration of the female body. At best, it gives two middle fingers to the patriarchy. “There’s a constant tension between how much of this is about the male gaze and how much of it is about women’s liberation,” shares Serena Dyer, a fashion historian. ‘I find the way it is so supported by women’s sexuality really fascinating.’
Fishing net and leopard
Such was the case for Rose McGowan in 1998, when she wore a fishnet dress and leopard thong to the VMA Awards, a decision she later revealed was a direct result of her alleged abuse by former Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein (he was found guilty of raping and assaulting two women in 2020 and is currently serving 23 years in prison).
“It was my first major public appearance after being sexually assaulted,” she later said Yahoo. “So it was like at the end of Gladiator when he came out and said, Are you not entertained? And if you look at me, I did it with strength. I didn’t do it with my hand on my hip to be sexy.’
The text continues below the photo.
If history has taught us anything, it’s that patriarchy doesn’t like women having a say. In fact, a similar thing happens slut shaming of women in sheer clothing ever since we first traded our elaborate silk dresses for sheer muslin dresses, way back in the Regency-period.
As Dyer explains: ‘There was a notable increase in newspaper reports of women dying from fire because their muslin dresses became stuck in fireplaces. Did at that time Regency-women quite daring things, it was an era of revolution and change. There is always an increase in these types of stories when women wear fashion that men don’t approve of.’ Satirical images also emphasized how frivolous women’s muslin was considered: ‘A famous example is Three Graces In A High Windwhich had very visible nipples and clearly made a mockery of fashion.’
Body shaming
It’s a topic Pugh has spoken about several times in recent years, most notably after she responded to negative reactions to the “nipple liberation” at Valentino’s 2022 haute couture show in a sheer pink tulle dress. “I think the scariest thing for me is when people are angry that I’ve shown ‘too much’ of myself,” she told ELLE UK after she first spoke out about the body shaming which she faced on Instagram at the time.
‘When everything went wrong with the pink Valentino dress a year ago, my nipples were showing through a piece of fabric, and that really turned people on. It is freedom that people fear; the fact that I feel comfortable and happy. Oppressing women by commenting on their bodies has worked for a long time.”
The text continues below the photo.
“I think we’re in a situation now where a lot of people are saying, ‘I don’t give a shit.’ Unfortunately, we have become so afraid of the human body that we can’t even look at my two cute nipples behind the fabric in a way that isn’t sexual. We must continue to remind everyone that there is more than one reason for the existence of a woman’s body.’
The text continues below the photo.
Yet among those there is whose sheer dresses have not been severely condemned a shared agreement: none of these women consented to their nudity. Take for example Jane Birkinwhose sheer knit dress that exposed her breasts under the paparazzi flash at the premiere of her film Slogan in 1968, when she was just 22 years old, has long been seen as proof of her chicness. Or later, Kate Mosswhose iconic silver slip dress — accented with black knickers, a cigarette and nothing else — has gone down in the annals of fashion history as a major source of inspiration (the same dress was recently auctioned for hundreds of dollars).
The text continues below the photo.
The similarity between these two historical fashion moments was the women’s lack of agency – both were unaware that their dresses were so revealing until they were revealed. Not that it bothered them. As Birkin jokingly noted later in her life, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have put on any underpants.” It also baffled Moss, who has since nodded to the moment countless times, looking back on it 30 years later: “Never wear a cover. That’s my advice to the younger generation. They’re so prudish these days.’ The magical revelation, the peek-a-boo moment, is almost part of the myth for both women.
The text continues below the photo.
On mood boards
Others, however, are not so unconcerned about being exposed, and understandably so. The deceased Princess Dianathen Lady Diana Spencer, was surprised by a photographer who captured the contours of her legs during an impromptu photo shoot outside the nursery where she worked when she was just nineteen.
Later the photographer, Arthur Edwards, said: ‘I didn’t do it on purpose, I promise. I didn’t do it to embarrass her, but it was such a good photo that you couldn’t get it published… Everyone doesn’t believe this, but it’s the truth: halfway through the sun came out and those beautiful legs out.” Diana, meanwhile, wasn’t exactly happy about it and was against it King Charles have said, “I don’t want to be known as the girlfriend who didn’t have a petticoat.”
It is especially telling that the women whose sheer dresses are pinned to mood boards and praised as iconic moments, often by those who never intended them that way. As a society, we seem to be able to tolerate women’s sexuality in our faces, as long as it’s unintentional. We are the ones who choose to look rather than be shown, and therein lies the problem.
