By now you should know the days of wearing black simply to a funeral is long gone. In fact, nothing makes a big fashion statement like a little black dress. Whether dressed in heels, a string of pearls, a clutch purse or a hat, you can accessorise to add drama to your wardrobe ensemble and step out in style at age 17 or 70!
A brief history of the little black dress, otherwise known as the LBD speaks to its dynamism as it has stood the test of time on the catwalk and high street with ease. The origin of the LBD is accredited to fashion designer Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel who conceptualised a black evening number in the 1920s, which was intended to be versatile, affordable and accessible to the widest market possible.
Now considered a staple in a woman’s closet, no self-respecting fashionista would be caught dead without one but during the previous epoch, death was always associated with women wearing black. In the 19th and early part of the 20th century, black was often reserved for periods of mourning and considered indecent when worn outside of such circumstances. 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. . . . Boy, have we come a long way!
In 1926 American Vogue published a picture of Coco Channel’s short black dress and a revolution was started. It was calf-length, straight and decorated only by a few diagonal lines. Vogue called it “Chanel’s Ford” (after the Model T car) and it soon became known as “the uniform for all women of taste”.
Now there are dresses and there are ‘dresses’ and not every LBD is created equal because some are simply more suitable for some occasions than others, therefore in choosing a dress you need to keep the kind of events you regularly attend in mind. You want more bang for your buck, so it makes no sense buying something you will only wear once a year.
To continue reading, Purchase Vol. 8 Issue #3 2015.
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By now you should know the days of wearing black simply to a funeral is long gone. In fact, nothing makes a big fashion statement like a little black dress. Whether dressed in heels, a string of pearls, a clutch purse or a hat, you can accessorise to add drama to your wardrobe ensemble and step out in style at age 17 or 70!
A brief history of the little black dress, otherwise known as the LBD speaks to its dynamism as it has stood the test of time on the catwalk and high street with ease. The origin of the LBD is accredited to fashion designer Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel who conceptualised a black evening number in the 1920s, which was intended to be versatile, affordable and accessible to the widest market possible.
Now considered a staple in a woman’s closet, no self-respecting fashionista would be caught dead without one but during the previous epoch, death was always associated with women wearing black. In the 19th and early part of the 20th century, black was often reserved for periods of mourning and considered indecent when worn outside of such circumstances. 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. . . . Boy, have we come a long way!
In 1926 American Vogue published a picture of Coco Channel’s short black dress and a revolution was started. It was calf-length, straight and decorated only by a few diagonal lines. Vogue called it “Chanel’s Ford” (after the Model T car) and it soon became known as “the uniform for all women of taste”.
Now there are dresses and there are ‘dresses’ and not every LBD is created equal because some are simply more suitable for some occasions than others, therefore in choosing a dress you need to keep the kind of events you regularly attend in mind. You want more bang for your buck, so it makes no sense buying something you will only wear once a year.
To continue reading, Purchase Vol. 8 Issue #3 2015.
Share this post: