A showcase of 1955 party dresses

After a fashionably muted winter the 1955 spring cocktail dresses come in keyed-up colors that disregard the traditional partygoing black and make newly arriving guests feel dudenly engulfed by outsized confetti. A brightly spattered roomful of them is shown here at a party in the home of William Talbert, U.S. Davis Cup team captain. In these new dresses designers have borrowed Japanese lantern colors and the sharp unadorned pastels of Japanese movies. The occasional prints are bold enough to hold their own in a crowd of vibrant colors.

Made of airy silkor heavy cotton, the party dresses usually have full skirts and low backs. Outstanding silhouette is the low-waisted dress with high square neckline introduced by Dior in Paris in the fall of 1954. Wearers can compound the color with vivid shoes, manyhued jewelry and even coats that match or contrast. By placing a bright velvet bow on the back of her hair, for the spring of 1955 the undimmed partygoer should be able to upstage anything short of a neon sign.