Fashion Terms — the Apparel Search fashion terminology directory
The mullet dress is a dress that is long in the back and short in the front, named for the mullet hairstyle — short at the front and sides, long in the back — which appeared in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s, became generally well-known in the early 1980s, stayed popular until the mid-1990s and returned partially as a retro look in the 2000s. The dress version emerged on the same retro wave: Miley Cyrus wore a dramatic black dress with a very short front and a long back to the VH1 Divas show, and the hairstyle sharing the description had been made famous by her father, Billy Ray Cyrus. Haute couture houses including Chanel, Prada and Valentino introduced their own versions, and wearers of the style include Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Banks.
The Mullet Dress by Apparel Search - Fashion Terms of Interest to the Fashion Industry
Fashion Terms Fashion Terms Directory Fashion Terms by Category Dress Fashion Dress Definition
We all recall the mullet hairstyle that is short at the front and sides, and long in the back. According to Wikipedia, the mullet was often ridiculed as a low-brow and unappealing hairstyle. It began to appear in popular media in the 1960s and 1970s, but did not become generally well-known until the early 1980s. The mullet hairstyle continued to remain popular until the mid-1990s and has enjoyed a partial return to favor as a retro look in the 2000s. More recently, Apparel Search has seen the emergence of the "mullet dress," which Urban Dictionary defines as a dress that is long in the back and short in the front.
A while back, Miley Cyrus arrived at the VH1 Divas show clad in a dramatic black dress that had a very short front and a long back. Speaking of short in the front and long in the back, the mullet hairstyle with a similar description was made famous by her father Bill Ray. Many other designers and celebrities have been inspired by the mullet, and these looks have been worn by some of Hollywood's most fashionable women. Haute couture designers such as Chanel, Prada, and Valentino Couture, have all introduced their own versions of the mullet dress. Those who have worn the retro-inspired style include Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Anne Hathaway, Elizabeth Banks, and more.
By Regina Cooper for Apparel Search November 2010.
Learn more about hairstyles or learn more about dresses.
Fashion Terms: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Learn more about the fashion industry here on Apparel Search. Read more fashion terms.
The hairstyle's old slogan describes the dress's design logic too. A short front shows the legs and the shoes and reads as a cocktail dress from the front; the long back adds the train, movement and formality of a gown from behind and in photographs. That split personality is the garment's function: one dress that behaves as two, mini and maxi at once, which is why it suited red-carpet wear, where the front is posed and the back is seen in motion. The dress definition and women's dresses guide linked on this page place the style among standard dress categories.
Fashion names usually flatter their garments; this one teases it, and the teasing helped it spread. “Mullet dress” communicates the entire silhouette in two words to anyone who remembers the hairstyle — no sketch needed — and the family joke of the Cyrus example, daughter's dress echoing father's famous hair, made the term memorable in coverage. Terms survive in a glossary when they compress information that well, whatever their tone: high-low hem is the polite synonym, but mullet dress is the one that pictures itself.
A dress cut short in the front and long in the back — a high-low hem carried to a dramatic contrast. Urban Dictionary's definition, quoted in the fashion coverage, is exactly that: long in the back, short in the front.
After the mullet hairstyle, which follows the same formula: short at the front and sides, long in the back. The hairstyle was widely ridiculed as low-brow, which is part of the joke — and the dress borrowed both the silhouette and the name during the hairstyle's retro revival.
Miley Cyrus's black VH1 Divas dress is the example that introduced the term here. Chanel, Prada and Valentino have all introduced versions, and the style has been worn by Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Banks, among other fashionable wearers.