Ladies, we all have one tucked away in our wardrobe. Indeed, it’s the timeless and convenient Little Black Dress. This piece is an essential pillar for a woman’s wardrobe: a simple and elegant option ready for any occasion. But who came up with it?
We love a lil’ trivia. Women used to only wear black in stages of mourning and so it evolved as the go-to option at some stage. However, as well as representing grief, it evolved to have alternative purposes. Darker shades became more practical, and, like Madame Curie, women were working outside the home with more frequency, getting dirty in the newly industrial world.
“I have no dress except the one I wear every day. If you are going to be kind enough to give me one, please let it be practical and dark so that I can put it on afterwards to go to the laboratory.” – Madame Curie
Indeed it was brought to fruition by the one and only Coco Chanel in the 1920’s. Vogue published an image of the calf-length simple black dress in 1926, which then became featured in the well known Breakfast at Tiffany’s movie on Audrey Hepburn. Vogue said:
“The little black dress is a uniform for all women of taste. For any girl, any woman with little money, it’s marvelous to have the possibility of having one dress for the whole season, for the whole year, and be well dressed.”
LBD’s from all era’s and period’s have one thing in common: timelessness. No matter their style or length, they must be versatile enough to be a last resort for a woman on-the-go. You can never go wrong with an LBD (or a few) in the wardrobe. The best part is that it’s suitable for any woman of any race or age. As put by Karl Lagerfield: “one is never over or under dressed with little black dress”. It is simply the perfect fit.
Every fashion-addict knows it’s a must have. It’s not just a fashion statement, it’s an iconic symbol, a legend. These fashionistas and style icons over the decades have understood it’s elegance and importance:
Just at this year’s Mercedes Benz Fashion Week in Sydney, it made an impressionable appearance on a majority of the runway shows.
So what is the future of the LBD? Do we think it will fade out? Of course not. From conservative to Coachella it will forever remain the perfect fit. Across time it has been the go-to for fashion icons of the world and still holds an incredible place every new trend and season.
