The 'Little Black Dress' is something each and every woman should house in her wardrobe. I have several LBD's and love all of them. They are a fashion must have and really do compliment women's figures and skin tones. The LBD should have a simple cut and show enough skin to be modest but still sexy. It must be elegant, classy and you must be able to dress it up or down. The LBD, in my opinion doesn't have to be short at all. Audrey Hepburn's in Breakfast at Tiffany's wasn't short and correct me if i'm wrong, but she still oozed sex appeal and sophistication in it. .
'Coco' Chanel made fashion accessible to women of all social background and in 1926, 'The Little Black Dress' allowed this. Chanel herself stated that "Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury" and she worked with soft easy-to-wear jersey fabrics that were simple in shape and cut to create the LBD. The Little Black dress, being a revolutionary piece, showed more arm and had a shorter hemline. Not only this, but she inspired shorter haircuts and showing the female figure in a less fake and corseted way. Women were no longer restricted and tired from wearing heavy dresses with too much flamboyance about them, they could move and feel more free in Chanel's 'Little Black Dress' and this started her fashion revolution.Before WWI, black was reserved for mourning, and obviously with wartime mortality rates at a high, women were seen more and more in black as a sign of mourning and respect for dead loved ones - Chanel helped make black sexy.
The LBD progressed and was no longer just as simple as the Chanel designs. For example the Givenchy LDB worn by Audrey Hepburn in the 1954 film Sabrina, looks far more glamorous and not as 'plain.'
Dior's New Look (1947) updated the LBD somewhat, giving the appearence of curves. Into the 1950's, society was still a little coy about the idea of sex and this style of the LBD was often used in old Hollywood movies to portray 'evil' or sexually provocative women who were 'dangerous.' In other words, sexy women, not sweet women. Perhaps this is why the LBD is always a sexy and flirtatious number. Take the picture below for example; look at the way the dress comes off the shoulder and that's all it needs to reveal to be sexy. The reason; because it's black and black is sexy. Especially when contrasted with pale skin and red lips.
The 1960's also saw the 'Little Black Dress' but this time, due to ever disappearing hem lines, it was indeed 'LITTLE.' The mods of the 1960's even adored the LBD, although more often than not, this was substituted with a mini skirt.
The Little Black Dress is a timeless piece no matter what fashion movement, style or era you're into and is a must have for all women. If you have one, wear it more. If you don't...get one or take a leaf out of Chanel's book and make yourself one!
It might be because I have no clue about fashion at all, but your blogs on fashion and that completly blow me away with the level of depth and information! Really good stuff, it's clearly a subject you're massively passionate about, and you write about it well :) x
ReplyDeleteAwww Thank you Adam :D It;s more the vintage look side of things about fashion I adore. My biggest passions are Ancient Egypt, Literature, Antiques and Politics :P
ReplyDeleteYour comments are always so lovely :D <3 xxx
Haha, thank you! I just am compelled to write what I do having read your stuff, it's fantastic :)
ReplyDeleteVintage stuff is the best, isn't it? I've never been in depth with fashion and such, but the 50s and 60s look of style at the time is big for me - for me, it's the cars of the period. They look stunning! The American stuff is the best, the fins 'n' chrome and such, but in England we had the Mini Cooper, in Italy there were various gorgeous Alfa Romeos being made (I've actually found one which I reckon Emily would suit down to the ground :D), and the style was just so free and brilliant. And then there's the music! The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Beach Boys...so much amazing music. What a great time to be alive :)
3 of those 4 areas I'm not big on but I can see the interest for sure (politics is an exception - I believe everyone should take at least a marginal interest in politics as it is something which does affect everyone after all), but literature is my language! Before I went on holiday I indulged myself and bought a Carol Ann Duffy poetry collection and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, and I'm polishing them off as we speak :) Seriously, I'm the kind of kid that, in english literature lessons, where everyone else is bored and writing notes, I'm still reading the book we're studying! I assume you're the same? And if I'm not reading, I'm writing - I've spent the last two years just going mad with writing, working on a novel and writing a lot of poetry and such. It's a great form of expression :)
Do you write at all? xxx