Little black dress
Encyclopedia
A little black dress is an evening
or cocktail dress
, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians
ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel
, intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral color. 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
by many women and fashion observers, who believe it a "rule of fashion" that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion: for example, worn with a jacket and pumps for daytime business wear or with more ornate jewelry and accessories for evening. Because it is meant to be a staple of the wardrobe for a number of years, the style of the little black dress ideally should be as simple as possible: a short black dress that is too clearly part of a trend would not qualify because it would soon appear dated.
's painting, Portrait of Madame X
. A widow's mourning dress was closely observed at a time when details in fashion conveyed a sophisticated symbolic language. During the Victorian and Edwardian ages, a widow was expected to wear several stages of mourning dress for at least two years. “Deep” or “full” mourning required the woman to wear plain black clothing with absolutely no decoration for the first year and a day of mourning. The second stage lasted nine months and permitted the wearing of black silk. In “ordinary mourning” for three months, the widow could accessorize only with black ribbon, lace, embroidery, or jet jewelry. The final six months of “half-mourning” allowed the bereaved to wear muted or neutral colors: shades and tints of purple were most common. Because of the number of deaths in World War I
, plus the many fatalities during the Spanish flu
epidemic, it became more common for women to appear in public wearing black.
In 1926 Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel 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.”
The little black dress continued to be popular through the Great Depression
, predominantly through its economy and elegance, albeit with the line lengthened somewhat. Hollywood's influence on fashion in North America helped the little black dress's popularity, but for more practical reasons: as Technicolor
movies 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
, 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 characters were portrayed often in black halter-style dresses in contrast to the more conservative dresses of housewives or more wholesome Hollywood stars. Synthetic fibers 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 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 or tulle. Many other women in the 1960s aspired to simple black sheath dresses similar to that designed by Hubert de Givenchy
and worn by actress Audrey Hepburn
in the 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 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 1970s, color has re-emerged as a factor in fashion and formalwear again shows an aversion to black. Starting in the late 2000s the fashion trends of the 1980s returned to favor. That meant the return of body conscious clothing, muted color schemes, and the reemergence of black. All these things have brought the LBD back, and as now it is popular as ever.
as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy
epitomized the standard for wearing little black dresses, accessorized with pearls, 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" Clara Bow
, was drawn wearing a little black dress in her early films, though with Technicolor
, Betty's dress became red.
Wallis Warfield 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.” Edith 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.
In the notorious "Covent Garden incident", a director at London
's Covent Garden
theatre fired the then-obese soprano
Deborah Voigt
from an opera
because she could not fit into a "little black cocktail dress," replacing her with the slimmer Anne Schwanewilms
.
In the 1981 musical comedy Shock Treatment, One of the antagonists sews up the attire for the heroine to wear in the second half of the film. It is indeed the little black dress. A song is sung as it is being made and presented as she wears it, which also is titled "Little Black Dress".
Evening dress
Evening dress may refer to:* White tie, the most formal civilian dress code in Western fashion* Black tie, a semi-formal dress code for evening events and social functions in Western fashion...
or cocktail dress
Cocktail dress
A cocktail dress or cocktail gown is a woman's dress worn at cocktail parties, and semi-formal, or "black tie" occasions.The length of cocktail dresses varies depending on fashion and local custom. The length ranges from just above the knee to touching the ankle...
, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians
History of fashion design
-Couture beginnings:The first fashion designer who was not merely a dressmaker was Charles Frederick Worth . Before the former draper set up his maison de couture in Paris, clothing design and creation was handled by largely anonymous seamstresses, and high fashion descended from styles worn at...
ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel was a pioneering French fashion designer whose modernist thought, menswear-inspired fashions, and pursuit of expensive simplicity made her an important figure in 20th-century fashion. She was the founder of one of the most famous fashion brands, Chanel...
, intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral color. 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
Clothing
Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...
by many women and fashion observers, who believe it a "rule of fashion" that every woman should own a simple, elegant black dress that can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion: for example, worn with a jacket and pumps for daytime business wear or with more ornate jewelry and accessories for evening. Because it is meant to be a staple of the wardrobe for a number of years, the style of the little black dress ideally should be as simple as possible: a short black dress that is too clearly part of a trend would not qualify because it would soon appear dated.
History
Prior to the 1920s, black was often reserved for periods of mourning and considered indecent when worn outside such circumstances, such as depicted in John Singer SargentJohn Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent was an American artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian era luxury. During his career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolors, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings...
's painting, Portrait of Madame X
Portrait of Madame X
Madame X or Portrait of Madame X is the informal title of a portrait painting by John Singer Sargent of a young socialite named Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, wife of Pierre Gautreau. The model was an American expatriate who married a French banker, and became notorious in Parisian high society...
. A widow's mourning dress was closely observed at a time when details in fashion conveyed a sophisticated symbolic language. During the Victorian and Edwardian ages, a widow was expected to wear several stages of mourning dress for at least two years. “Deep” or “full” mourning required the woman to wear plain black clothing with absolutely no decoration for the first year and a day of mourning. The second stage lasted nine months and permitted the wearing of black silk. In “ordinary mourning” for three months, the widow could accessorize only with black ribbon, lace, embroidery, or jet jewelry. The final six months of “half-mourning” allowed the bereaved to wear muted or neutral colors: shades and tints of purple were most common. Because of the number of deaths in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, plus the many fatalities during the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
epidemic, it became more common for women to appear in public wearing black.
In 1926 Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel published a picture of a short, simple black dress in American Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
. 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.”
The little black dress continued to be popular through the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, predominantly through its economy and elegance, albeit with the line lengthened somewhat. Hollywood's influence on fashion in North America helped the little black dress's popularity, but for more practical reasons: as Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
movies 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
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, 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
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
and fallen women characters were portrayed often in black halter-style dresses in contrast to the more conservative dresses of housewives or more wholesome Hollywood stars. Synthetic fibers 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 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 or tulle. Many other women in the 1960s aspired to simple black sheath dresses similar to that designed by Hubert de Givenchy
Hubert de Givenchy
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn, as well as clothing for clients such as Jacqueline Kennedy...
and worn by actress Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
in the 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 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 1970s, color has re-emerged as a factor in fashion and formalwear again shows an aversion to black. Starting in the late 2000s the fashion trends of the 1980s returned to favor. That meant the return of body conscious clothing, muted color schemes, and the reemergence of black. All these things have brought the LBD back, and as now it is popular as ever.
Famous little black dresses
Audrey HepburnAudrey Hepburn
Audrey Hepburn was a British actress and humanitarian. Although modest about her acting ability, Hepburn remains one of the world's most famous actresses of all time, remembered as a film and fashion icon of the twentieth century...
as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy
Hubert de Givenchy
Count Hubert James Marcel Taffin de Givenchy is a French aristocrat and fashion designer who founded The House of Givenchy in 1952. He is famous for having designed much of the personal and professional wardrobe of Audrey Hepburn, as well as clothing for clients such as Jacqueline Kennedy...
epitomized the standard for wearing little black dresses, accessorized with pearls, 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
Betty Boop
Betty Boop is an animated cartoon character created by Max Fleischer, with help from animators including Grim Natwick. She originally appeared in the Talkartoon and Betty Boop film series, which were produced by Fleischer Studios and released by Paramount Pictures. She has also been featured in...
, a cartoon character based in part on the 1920s' "It Girl" Clara Bow
Clara Bow
Clara Gordon Bow was an American actress who rose to stardom in the silent film era of the 1920s. It was her appearance as a spunky shopgirl in the film It that brought her global fame and the nickname "The It Girl." Bow came to personify the roaring twenties and is described as its leading sex...
, was drawn wearing a little black dress in her early films, though with Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
, Betty's dress became red.
Wallis Warfield 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.” Edith Piaf
Édith Piaf
Édith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, 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.
In the notorious "Covent Garden incident", a director at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Covent Garden
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 site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
theatre fired the then-obese soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
Deborah Voigt
Deborah Voigt
Deborah Voigt is an American operatic soprano. Voigt regularly performs in opera houses and concert halls worldwide.- Early life and education :...
from an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
because she could not fit into a "little black cocktail dress," replacing her with the slimmer Anne Schwanewilms
Anne Schwanewilms
Anne Schwanewilms is a German lyric soprano. She studied gardening before training as a singer with the German bass, Hans Sotin, in Cologne...
.
In the 1981 musical comedy Shock Treatment, One of the antagonists sews up the attire for the heroine to wear in the second half of the film. It is indeed the little black dress. A song is sung as it is being made and presented as she wears it, which also is titled "Little Black Dress".
Further reading
- Edelman, Amy Holman (1998). The Little Black Dress. Aurum. ISBN 1-85410-604-X
- The History of the Perfect Little Black Dress Everything you want to know about Coco Chanel's designs in the 1920s.
- The Little Black Dress by Jenna Wallis
- “About Fashion.” Fashion.about.com/cs/dresses/a/littleblackdres.htm. May 2006
- “Sixties Fashions.” http://www.fiftiesweb.com/fashion/basic-black-dress.htm. June 2, 2006.
- “Woman’s Hour Radio.” http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2006_12_thu.shtml. May 2006.