In 1958 an unfortunate fashion fad was the “sack dress,” also known as the chemise.  Apparently a ’20s look was the intention, as it was accompanied by a flapper headband and (ugh!) tights.  Gerry Granahan wrote a song about it called “No Chemise, Please!” that reached #23 on the charts.  On March 5, 1958, Bob Possehl, reporter for the St. Louis Park Echo, had this to say:

Males Veto Modern Modes

Nowadays the only way you can tell which direction a girl is walking is by looking at the point on her ducktail and assuming that she is moving the opposite way.

She does try to overcome the handicap of “sack” dresses, lovingly called chemises, by using her new pointed shoes to “lead the way home.”

How can she possibly adore something that disguises her womanly attributes as a paper sack would an hour glass? Is this feminine logic?

She even covers her legs with such shocking stockings that it’s hard to look at them without sunglasses.

Most of the boys are in favor of returning to the “good ol’ days” when sheaths and curly locks distinguished members of the fairer sex.

A couple of weeks later, Sue Berstein retaliated with an article entitled “Females Frigid to Fanciful Fashions,” decrying the boys’ fads of loud plaid vests and pants with the buckle in the back.

The ad below is unfortunately undated but may be a spoof of the fad.