Polka Dots: A Fashion History

 First things first, the word “polka” itself derives from the Polish for “Polish woman” , in Czech, it translates to “little woman or girl.” Which makes sense, given the polka dots inherently feminine feel.

While the love affair with the polka dot perhaps began in 1926 when Miss America was photographed in a polka dot bikini; the first famous protagonist of the polka dot was, of course, Disney’s Minnie Mouse in 1928.

Christian Dior used polka dots in his seminal New Look collection, in what Vogue reported was a “direct, unblushing plan to make women extravagantly, romantically, eyelash-battingly female”. It worked, as the polka dot dress was Dior’s best-selling New Look piece in 1954. Hollywood royalty quickly fell for the print with the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Lucille Ball and Marilyn Monroe forming its A-list fan base.

In 1951, Monroe was famously photographed in a polka dot bikini and, nine years later, Brian Hyland’s hit ‘Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini’ topped the charts, putting polka dots firmly back in vogue. Inherently feminine they may be, but male wardrobes weren’t immune from the polka print craze. In 1962, DC Comics introduced Polka-Dot Man with multi-coloured dots.

Designer Carolina Herrera used polka dots on most of her dresses during the late 1980s and early 1990s and it remains a key print in her collections. Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo has said that her earliest memories of fashion comprise “blue and white and polka dots” and prints them on T-shirts and wallets.

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