White Russian (cocktail) Russian" in the sense of a cocktail as appearing in California's "Oakland Tribune" on November 21, 1965. It was placed in the newspaper as an insert: "White Russian. 1 oz. each Southern, vodka, cream", with "Southern" referring to Coffee Southern, a short-lived brand of coffee liqueur by Southern Comfort. Though long regarded as a boring and unsophisticated drink, the White Russian saw a surge in popularity after the 1998 release of the film "The Big Lebowski", throughout which it appears as the protagonist's beverage of choice. As with all cocktails, various modes of preparation exist, varying according to the recipes
Cocktail dress among the American elite. While French couture relied on travel and American department stores, American designers relied on fashion magazines, such as "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair", and the need to dress semi-formally for cocktail hour. In 1948, Christian Dior labeled this business-casual dress with the term "cocktail dress". This allowed department store to advertise specifically “cocktail” garments and accessories, increasing the growth of fashion stores. The craze for cocktail culture drove sales in cocktail merchandise as well, such as cocktail and martini-printed fabrics. The American cocktail dress could be anything from a "little black dress" to a floral-printed dress or