Hooverette

Like many things used by impoverished people during the Great Depression (e.g. Hoover hogs, Hoovervilles), the dress was named after Herbert Hoover, US president when the Depression began, +‎ -ette. (It has also been suggested that the name might not refer to the inexpensiveness but liken the dress's effectiveness as work clothing to Hoover's pre-presidential career as an effective administrator of aid to Europe after the First World War.)^[1]

Hooverette (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.
   • 1932, Elmer Wheeler, Tested Selling Sentences (the Language of the Brain): Master Book:

     The Hooverette can be worn as a dress or as an apron.

   • 1937, Lucy Poate Stebbins, The Golden Carlotta:

     “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  […] ”

   • 2010, Mary Beth Klatt, Chicago's Fashion History: 1865 - 1945, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN:

     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.

• hooverette