The Magic of Little Black Dress

Classy, simple and elegant - this is Little Black Dress. It's not only a dress for every occasion, it's a dress which has brought change and history.  

Before Coco Chanel came with her revolutionary model in 1920s, it's important to say black dress had been worn before, however, it wasn't for elegance but rather as a sign of grief or poverty in some cases. A mounring dress became popular during Victorian era (1837 - 1901) in England thanks to Queen Victoria. After the death of her husband Albert, she used to wear black dresses only until the end of her times, even though black colour was not really her favourite. Queen Victoria also set some kind of a "trend" when widows are supposed to mourn for 3 months to 2,5 years while wearing black clothes only.

Queen Victoria's
mourning dress, 1894

The truth is that Queen Victoria was not the only woman in history who used to wear mourning dress until her death. A century before, Francis I, the Holy Roman Emperor and a husband of Marie Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia (1740 - 1780) died on 19th August 1765. Marie Theresa suffered from the loss of her husband and she wore black dresses together with a widow cap and pearls around her neck as a sign of sadness and grief until her death. 

Marie Theresa 
in mourning dress

Black dress was not only a sign of grief, but also poverty. Uniforms of housekeepers, cleaners and maids used to be black as well. This colour was very practical for them as the dirt on their clothes wasn't that obvious. Historically is (or was) black dress considered as a colour of negative things - sadness, grief and poverty. 

Now, you might be asking: What does mourning dress have in common with little black dress by Coco Chanel?  Well, quite a lot. Black dress was considered as mourning colour until 1920s. This has been changed by the popular French designer Coco Chanel who was shocking society since 1918 back then. She became popular in 1926, especially among higher Parisian class. Coco Chanel changed how women used to dress. 

In 1926, Vogue presented simple black dress on a cover of one of the issues of this fashion magazine. The dress was made of Crêpe De Chine and it had long sleeves and lowered waist. The dress was all black with only two accessories - pearl necklace and a "cloche" hat. 

The first LBD, 1926

Simple, elegant and iconic. Vogue themselves called the dress "revolutionary", and they even claimed this dress is like "a uniform for all women of taste". In 1926, a car Ford Model T was produced, after which Vogue began calling the little black dress "Chanel's Ford". Both, the dress and the car, were luxurious and elegant. 

There are other reasons why LBD is so significant and classy. Little Black Dress was introduced at the time of the Great Depression, when the bad economic situation was raging. Even rich women started looking for something beautiful, elegant and affordable. They were looking for simple evening dress which would suit perfectly to the environment of crisis and enable women of all classes and incomes to wear elegant clothing. Coco Chanel allowed common people to "be dressed as millionaires". 

Ford Model T, 1926

Coco Chanel knew what she was doing. World War II took its place right after the end of the Great Depression. Budgets of families were even tighter, leaving no spare money or let alone thoughts and opportunities for evening dresses. In addition, luxury fabrics, such as silk, were very rare and expensive. Market back then was offering simple black fabrics, and also little black dress. This trend allowed women to dress in a way that they didn't look too luxurious and they were able to fit within the war environment. 

During the upcoming years, the LBD stayed a fashion trend for several reasons, especially in film industry. The film (or movie) industry has always had an essential impact on trends in general. Film directors relied on black dresses because of technical-colour films. Black colour didn't distort the colour in the movie. Femme fatales also wore LBD to express their mysterious charm.

LBD became so popular that it even appeared on a cartoon character called Betty Boop, which was inspired by 1920s actress Clara Bow. Edith Piaf also wore little black dress and this piece of clothing became her signature. She was encouraged by her manager to wear black dress on stage to appear taller and more confident. Of course, we can't forget Audrey Hepburn's iconic little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's. 

Little Black Dress has always been in fashion but it experienced a huge comeback during 1980s and 1990s. A lot of fashion trends from 1930s became all the rage again, especially during those two decades, such as mentioned LBD or pastel eyeshadows. 

It can be said little black dress is not only a dress. It's a concept of something classy.