The little black dress has been one of the most popular items of women’s clothing throughout the history of fashion. It has survived the various changes in fashion through history and has frequently been worn by iconic women such as Lady Diana Spencer, Kate Moss, Audrey Hepburn, and Marie Curie.
The little black dress – or LBD – is often considered to be the one thing that every woman’s wardrobe must contain. It is a rule of fashion that every woman should own a single elegant black dress that can be worn on multiple occasions. The LBD can be with paired with a variety of items of clothing and accessories such as jackets, loose shirts, and all kinds of jewelry. Suitable for all times of the day, the little black dress is the indispensable attire that can make any woman look perfect no matter what the occasion.
Going to a fancy event? Pair your little black dress with heels and an elegant necklace and you’re good to go. For more casual events, you can simply add flats and some colorful accessories and you’ll look perfect. In addition, there is just something about the color black that just never goes wrong.
History of the little black dress
The first recorded mention of the little black dress in its current form was in a publication by Vogue in 1926. Gabrielle Chanel presented a picture of a simple and short black dress. It was cut at the calf and had extremely simple decorations. This dress was designed to be made available to almost all women from every social hierarchy. The LBD was made for women who “understood good tastes” and wanted to dress accordingly. Even though black dresses had some negative associations in the past, Chanel basically destroyed the image of black dresses only being connected to sorrow and mourning and turned into something sharp, beautiful, and ready.
It was one of those rare fashion signatures that survived the Great Depression and still continues to be popular to this day. Worn by celebrities from every field such as fashion, Hollywood, the music industry, the sports industry, and more, the black dress has gone through numerous iterations and alterations and is still experimented with to this day. The black dress will remain an icon in the fashion world for the times to come.
Some of the famous little black dresses from the history fashion books include the black Givenchy dress worn by Audrey Hepburn, the Duchess of Windsor Wallis Simpson’s collection of such black garments, and many notable opera singers who dress exclusively in black dresses during their performances. People have been fired from positions of responsibility for not maintaining the black dress, or for not being able to properly fit in one. A notable example in this case is the firing of Deborah Voigt from an opera when she was unable to fit in the black dress provided.
So, make sure you have your very own little black dress in your closet. Whatever event you’re dressing up for, you can’t go wrong with the LBD.