Definition of "Hooverette"

Hooverette

noun
plural Hooverettes
1. A simple housedress with robe-style sash and wrap front, worn especially in United States in the 1930s and 1940s, with one section overlapping another; when dirty, the overlap could be reversed so a clean section was on top again, reducing laundry.
  Quotations
  The Hooverette can be worn as a dress or as an apron.
  1932, Elmer Wheeler, Tested Selling Sentences (the Language of the Brain): Master Book
  “I have so few opportunities to wear such a dress, that I thought I'd better take every one that offered.” “In Paris you would need such a frock every evening,” observed Lynnette admiringly. “I'd rather stay at home and wear Hooverettes […] ”
  1937, Lucy Poate Stebbins, The Golden Carlotta
  During this period, Sears, Roebuck and Company sold Hooverettes, which were inexpensive, simple, wraparound dresses. They were reversible, so the whole dress could be flipped inside out for a different look.
  2010, Mary Beth Klatt, Chicago's Fashion History: 1865 - 1945, Arcadia Publishing