Cocktail Hour

A cocktail dress is a woman's dress worn at cocktail parties and semi-formal, or "black tie" occasions. The length of a cocktail dress is long, often touching the ankle. When it is about 5 cm (2 inches) above the ankle it is called tea length. At semi-formal occasions, a less elaborate, shorter-length cocktail dress may be worn. Prior to the mid 20th century this type of dress was known as 'late afternoon'.