Short Evening Dress

On 1stDibs, you can find the most appropriate vintage or contemporary short evening dress for your needs in our varied inventory. Our collection includes a variety of colors, spanning Black, Gray, Blue and more. Finding the perfect short evening dress may mean sifting through those that were made during different time periods — popular versions were made as early as the 20th Century and a newer one, made as recently as the 21st Century, can also be found on the site. Making an accessory such as this has likely been a part of the legacy of many fashion designers, but those produced by Chanel, Prada and Alexander McQueen are consistently popular. If you’re browsing our inventory for these accessories, you’ll find that many are available today for women, but there are still pieces to choose from for men and unisex.

The price for a short evening dress starts at $76 and tops out at $10,459, and on average, selling for $695.

With entire museum exhibitions dedicated to examining fashion designers and their creations, we’re finally recognizing that costuming is art. Fashion is a powerful means of self-expression, and sophisticated vintage evening dresses and gowns by our favorite couturier play no small role in making us feel wonderful but, perhaps more importantly, making us feel like ourselves.

Evening dresses over time have conveyed specific statements about social class, position and beliefs. In the 16th century, dresses and gowns were so important that England's Queen Elizabeth I defined rules about what dresses women could wear — guidance included long skirts and fitted bodices. Forward-thinking designers have responded to this history.

Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel reimagined traditionally masculine garments for feminine shapes, and her elegant evening dresses and gowns promoted comfort and grace in women’s wear that had been dominated in the previous century by layers of fabric. French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent introduced innovative and highly coveted dress designs in the 1960s while at the same time challenging sexist stereotypes about which members of society could wear tuxedos. Works by unconventional British designer John Galliano — featured in houses like Givenchy and Dior — redefined limits that dressmakers faced in terms of material, construction and vision during the late 20th century.

Today’s designers target an increasingly broad audience with their boundary-crossing work, and their tendency to play off of each other’s ideas means that every walk down the runway is also a walk through an entire history of fashion design and dress craftsmanship.

Whether you gravitate toward backless maxi dresses or silk charmeuse gowns by Alexander McQueen or embellished, ruffled floral-print designs by Chloe or Versace, there is an extraordinary collection of vintage and designer evening dresses and gowns waiting for you on 1stDibs.