Is Strapless Dead?

The strapless formal dress is not dead yet, but it certainly appears to be on a dying trajectory.

Once a staple of the formal dress market, the strapless dress has fallen out of favor with the ascension of illusion tops and other strap styles over the past few years. Girls looking for a strapless dress are finding fewer options each season.
Illusion tops, in case you haven't been paying attention to the formal wear business, are those with mesh that span from wider straps to cap sleeves to full sleeves. The mesh can be plain or embellished with beading, embroidery or applique, but the sheer appearance provides the illusion of the strapless dress. Halters, chokers, traditional straps and off-shoulder straps also are taking a greater slice of the market.
Before we bid goodbye to the strapless dress, let's at least take time to examine the advantages and disadvantages of this once common style:

In Favor of Strapless

The primary advantage of the strapless dress has to be the opportunity for ladies to show off their shoulders and neck. No matter how women feel about their arms or their torsos, they generally are pleased with the shape of their shoulders.
The strapless dress, depending upon the length of the dress's torso, changes the proportion of the woman's torso to create the desired two-thirds effect, either shortening or lengthening the appearance.
A corset back also is a prominent feature of strapless dresses, allowing women to highlight their slender waists without the costly alternative of altering the waistline.

The Drawbacks to Strapless

Achieving the proper fit in a strapless dress is a primary disadvantage. Because every woman has a different shape – varying bust to waist ratio, different torso length, broader backs, etc. – reaching the perfect fit on a strapless dress required either the corset back or extensive alterations.
Because of this challenge of getting the proper fit, women often feel their strapless dress is falling down and must be adjusted constantly throughout the night. This issue also is a result of women never receiving the proper instruction in how to wear their strapless dress.
The illusion top gives the security missing from a misfit strapless dress, which probably explains its growing popularity. However, you likely will need some alterations on the illusion top as well as few torsos provide the exact fit.
If your dream remains to wear a strapless dress for your prom, wedding or other formal event, you still have options as strapless cannot be declared dead yet, but it does seem to have moved to the back seat in favor of the illusion top.