The Little Black Dress

The little black dress is a woman’s fashion necessity - almost as much as having a pair of heels. Where did the concept of the black dress come from?As we know, wearing black was not always a fashion statement. Black was often reserved for times of mourning. That is until the 20s and fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel introduced the black dress as something of luxury and fashion. Her design was a sleeveless sheath cut just above the knee. It was chic and comfortable - as Chanel was quoted saying “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” For Chanel, the idea was to help women look effortlessly classic and appropriately sexy in just seconds.The little black dresses popularity continued through the Great Depression. Hollywood’s influence helped it maintain its spike. Hollywood’s influence was actually quite a practical one at first. Technicolor movies had become more common and filmmakers relied on little black dresses because other colors look distorted on screen and botched with the coloring process. With female celebrities continuing to wear the black dress came the continual promotion of it.Then came World War II and the rationing of textiles. Black was not a rationed color, so the black dress continued its glory.After the war, Christian Dior’s new look and the sexual conservatism of the 1950s affected the little black dress bringing it down and making it appear more as a uniform. Added to this was Hollywood now placing all of their femme fatales or fallen women in black dresses. Wholesome women were dressing in more colorful designs.Then came Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast rc flying shark at Tiffany’s. The little black dress suddenly made a comeback with the younger generations. The dress Hepburn wore was designed by Hubert de Givency, presented in his first couture collection in 1952. Hepburn wore several of Givency’s black dresses but it wasn’t until her movie in 1961 that it caught on.During the 1970s, the little black dress was somewhat lacy and feminine such as those made by Bill Blass. But the 70s were the era of disco and loud colors, so the black dress declined a bit. The 80s was more about business and making money - which segued back into wearing air swimmers black and looking professional. It was also the time of fitness therefore designs demonstrated black dresses with broad shoulders or peplums.By the 90s, people were looking for simplicity. A variety of lengths of the little black dress appeared on the market. Fullness was popular. Grunge was popular also so it wasn’t uncommon to see women wearing a black dress with sandals or combat boots. As the new decade emerged, so did the popularity of owning a little black dress in its simplicity.Today, the idea of the little black dress still holds credence. Though the little black dress has undergone hemline, shoulder, strap and fabric variations and this season is no different. The only suggestions fashion expert make about the little black dress are these: The dresses length should be kept around the knees, right above or below; One should keep their legs bare or in sheer hose; To embellish your look, you can simply add sparkly earrings; The style of the little black dress ideally should be as simple as possible as anything too over-the-top would soon appear dated; The black dress can be dressed up rc flying fish or down, depending on the occasion; Adding a jacket and pumps for daytime business wear or with ornate jewelry and accessories for the evening transforms this dress in minutes.Will the little black dress continue to be a necessity within the next century/ We shall see.