Little black dress
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The little black dress (LBD) is a black
evening Evening is the period of a day that begins at the end of daylight and overlaps with the beginning of night. It generally indicates the period of time when the sun is close to the horizon and comprises the periods of civil, nautical and astronom ...
or cocktail dress, cut simply and often short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of
Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
. It is intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, and widely accessible. Its ubiquity is such that it is often simply referred to as the "LBD". The little black dress is considered essential to a complete
wardrobe A wardrobe, also called armoire or almirah, is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that sep ...
. Many fashion observers state that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. For example, the LBD can be worn with a jacket and pumps for daytime business wear. It can also be worn with ornate jewelry and accessories for evening wear or a formal event such as a
wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...
or
ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but sometimes ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used for s ...
.


History

Black has always been a color rich in symbolism. In the early 16th century, black represented wealth among Spanish aristocrats and Dutch merchants as it was incredibly expensive to produce the black color from "imported oak apples." In the early 18th century, black represented romance and artistry. As Ann Demeulemeester said of it, "Black is poetic. How do you imagine a poet? In a bright yellow jacket? Probably not." In the early 19th century, black was adopted by the Romantics such as
Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824) was an English poet. He is one of the major figures of the Romantic movement, and is regarded as being among the greatest poets of the United Kingdom. Among his best-kno ...
, Shelley, and Keats, due to its melancholic aura. As the
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the reign of Queen Victoria, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. Slightly different definitions are sometimes used. The era followed the ...
began, black transitioned from a color of art to one of grief and mourning – widows were expected to wear black for at least a year – and also for service livery, as the uniform for
maid A maid, housemaid, or maidservant is a female domestic worker. In the Victorian era, domestic service was the second-largest category of employment in England and Wales, after agricultural work. In developed Western nations, full-time maids a ...
s. In 1926
Coco Chanel Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and Businessperson, businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with populari ...
published a picture of a short, simple black dress in American '' Vogue''. It was calf-length, straight and decorated only by a few diagonal lines. ''Vogue'' called it "Chanel's Ford". Like the Model T, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes. ''Vogue'' also said that the LBD would become "a sort of uniform for all women of taste". This, as well as other designs by the house of Chanel helped disassociate black from mourning, and reinvent it as the uniform of the high-class, wealthy, and chic. As Coco herself proclaimed, "I imposed black; it's still going strong today, for black wipes out everything else around." The little black dress continued to be popular through the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, predominantly through its economy and elegance, albeit with the line lengthened somewhat.
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...
's influence on fashion helped the little black dress's popularity, but for more practical reasons: as
Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
films became more common, filmmakers relied on little black dresses because other colors looked distorted on screen and botched the coloring process. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, the style continued in part due to widespread rationing of textiles, and in part as a common uniform (accessorized for businesswear) for civilian women entering the workforce. The rise of Dior's "New Look" in the post-war era and the sexual conservatism of the 1950s returned the little black dress to its roots as a uniform and a symbol of the dangerous woman. Hollywood femmes fatales and
fallen women "Fallen woman" is an archaic term which was used to describe a woman who has "lost her innocence", and fallen from the grace of God. In 19th-century Britain especially, the meaning came to be closely associated with the loss or surrender of a ...
characters were portrayed often in black halter-style dresses in contrast to the more conservative dresses of housewives or more wholesome Hollywood stars. Synthetic fibres made popular in the 1940s and 1950s broadened the availability and affordability of many designs. The generation gap of the 1960s created a dichotomy in the design of the little black dress. The younger " mod" generation preferred, in general, a miniskirt on their versions of the dress and designers catering to the
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...
continued to push the envelope - shortening the skirt even more, creating cutouts or slits in the skirt or bodice of the dress, using sheer fabrics such as
netting In law, set-off or netting is a legal technique applied between persons or businesses with mutual rights and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities, replacing gross positions with net positions. It permits the rights to be used to discharg ...
or
tulle Tulle (; ) is a Communes of France, commune in central France. It is the third-largest town in the former region of Limousin and is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Corrèze, in the Regions of France, region of Nouvelle- ...
. Many women aspired to simple black sheath dresses similar to the black Givenchy dress worn by
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...
in the acclaimed film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's''. The popularity of casual fabrics, especially knits, for dress and business wear during the 1980s brought the little black dress back into vogue. Coupled with the fitness craze, the new designs incorporated details already popular at the time such as broad shoulders or peplums: later in the decade and into the 1990s, simpler designs in a variety of lengths and fullness were popular. The
grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...
culture of the 1990s saw the combination of the little black dress with both sandals and combat boots, though the dress itself remained simple in cut and fabric. The new glamour of the late 1990s led to new variations of the dress but, like the 1950s and the 1970s, colour re-emerged as a factor in fashion and formalwear and repeatedly shows an aversion to black. The resurgence of body conscious clothing, muted colour schemes, and the reemergence of predominant black, along with the retrospective trends of the 1980s in the late 2000s paved way to the return of interest to the dress. By 2014, a retrospective of Chanel's work at the Kunstmuseum in
The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
could say that the little black dress is "part of today’s universal fashion vocabulary."


Famous examples

The black dress worn by
Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...
as Holly Golightly in the film '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' (1961), designed by Hubert de Givenchy, epitomized the standard for wearing little black dresses accessorized with pearls (together called "basic black"), as was frequently seen throughout the early 1960s. The dress set a record in 2006 when it was auctioned for £410,000, six times its original estimate. Betty Boop, a cartoon character based in part on the 1920s it girl Helen Kane, was drawn wearing a little black dress in her early films, though with
Technicolor Technicolor is a family of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes. The first version, Process 1, was introduced in 1916, and improved versions followed over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black-and ...
later, Betty's dress became red.Edelman, Amy Holman (1998). ''The Little Black Dress''. Aurum. Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, was known to own several little black dresses and said much in praise of the garments. One quote of the Duchess: "When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place." Édith Piaf, the French folk icon, performed in a black sheath dress throughout her career: for this habit she was nicknamed "little black sparrow". It was thought that the dress helped audiences focus more on Piaf's singing and less on her appearance.
Diana, Princess of Wales Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 â€“ 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William, ...
wore a black Christina Stambolian dress to the
Serpentine Gallery The Serpentine Galleries are two contemporary art galleries in Kensington Gardens, Westminster, Greater London. Recently rebranded to just Serpentine, the organisation is split across Serpentine South, previously known as the Serpentine Galler ...
's summer party hosted by '' Vanity Fair'' in June 1994, the night her husband
Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...
admitted to having an adulterous affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Diana's dress has been likened to a "little black dress".
Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...
wore a "little black dress" during her night matches at the 2006 US Open which she helped design with Nike and featured a round crystal-studded collar after being inspired by Hepburn, and went on to win the tournament. Upon her return to the sport in 2017, eleven years after winning the tournament, she again wore a "little black dress" collaborating with Nike and
Swarovski Swarovski (, ) is an Austrian producer of glass based in Wattens, Tyrol. It was founded in 1895 by Daniel Swarovski. The company is split into three major industry areas: the Swarovski Crystal Business, which primarily produces crystal glas ...
for her night matches at the 2017 US Open to celebrate her return at the championships. The look was intended to be reminiscent of her 2006 dress. In an incident at
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
's
Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...
theatre in 2004, a director fired the then- obese
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
Deborah Voigt from an
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
because she could not fit into a "little black cocktail dress", replacing her with the slimmer Anne Schwanewilms.Anthony Tommasini, "With Surgery, Soprano Sheds a Brünnhilde Body," ''New York Times'', March 27, 2005, found a
New York Times website
''Before and after images included''. Accessed May 27, 2009.
Anthony Tommasini, "Second Date With a Little Black Dress," ''New York Times'', June 11, 2008, found a

Accessed May 27, 2009.
Vivien Schweitzer, "Music Review: A Slimmed-Down Diva Keeps Her Vocal Heft," ''New York Times'', June 18, 2009, found a

Accessed May 27, 2009.
"Deborah Voigt: Off The Scales: Opera Star Talks About Lifelong Battle With Weight," found a
"Deborah Voigt: Off The Scales, Opera Star Talks About Lifelong Battle With Weight"
CBS News. Retrieved May 29, 2009.


References


Further reading

* Edelman, Amy Holman (1998). ''The Little Black Dress''. Aurum. .

About.com. May 2006

June 2, 2006.
"The Little Black Dress"
''Woman's Hour Radio''.
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
. May 2006.
"The Myth Of The Little Black Dress"
''Jane Curtain'' . The Fashion Culte Magazine. November 2014. {{Authority control 1920s fashion 20th-century fashion 21st-century fashion Chanel Dresses