Season after season, the flawless wrap dress finds itself reworked, redesigned and reinvented on the runways of modern designers, but one woman alone can take the credit for the fabulous little package that is the wrap dress.

The Wrap Dress is Born

Introduced to fashionable women by the legendary powerhouse of style, Diane von Furstenberg in the 1970s, more than three decades later the wrap dress continues to be as flattering and curve-loving as ever.

According to the designer's website, in 1972, Belgian born designer Diane von Furstenberg's concept for the contemporary wrap dress began as a cotton jersey shirt dress similar to a wrapped dancer's sweater. And just a few years later, in 1974, the shirt prototype was elongated into the fabulous frock commonly known as the wrap dress. 

Von Furstenberg's revolutionary design earned her massive acclaim and came to symbolize female power and freedom to an entire generation as she encouraged women to "feel like a woman, wear a dress."

Inspired by a chic, young generation of women who were buying vintage 1970s wrap dresses, Diane re-launched her wrap dress collection in 1997.

Of course, wrap-style dresses have been around for centuries, such as the kimono and toga, but the modern wrap dress has streamlined, simple lines that every woman can appreciate.

The Figure-Flattering Wrap Dress

If ever there was a garment designed to flatter a woman's figure, it was to be the wrap dress.  Tall and willowy, shorter and shapely, plus sized or petite, the wrap dress looks phenomenal on every shape. The folding style of the wrap dress hugs a woman's body in all the right places, skimming the hips, accentuating cleavage, and cinching the waist.

If you are curvy with an hour-glass figure, the cross-over wrap dress with its lovely waist-cinching tie further accentuates a narrow waist, full bosom, and shapely hips.

If you have more of a rectangular or straight figure, with little difference between your hips and waist – like Diane von Furstenberg herself – the wrap dress will create the illusion of a more womanly shape thanks to its waist-cinching closure. And women with flatter chests can indulge in deeper necklines without worrying about looking too risqué.

Since the wrap dress is extremely customizable, the wrap dress is also an excellent investment for the expectant mother. A jersey-knit maternity wrap dress, will take you from early first trimester (before you've shared the news) and well into the second or third trimester. The tie will sit just below your bust line once your waist disappears, and the fluid stretch fabric will flatter your rounded, pregnant body.

The Versatile Wrap Dress

A true chameleon, the wrap dress is one of the only garments that can be dressed up for a formal evening affair with sexy stilettos and stunning earrings, converted to a casual weekend brunch look with boots, chunky jewelry and a pashmina, dressed way down at the beach worn over your swimsuit with flip flops, or made totally funky and modern worn over leggings or your favorite jeans.

A testament to its universally flattering shape and versatility, the wrap around dress can be found in nearly every fabric, style and color.