"One is never too much or not enough dressed with a little black dress," Karl Lagerfeld explained to us one day . An efficiency to all tests that has allowed this best-seller constantly reinvented to cross the years with subtlety. Back to the often told story of this essential feminine fashion.
The origins of the little black dress
We often tend to attribute the creation of the little black dress to Gabrielle Chanel and yet it's well on the street as this iconic piece of the female wardrobe was born. And for good reason, in the 1920s, fashion is black. Dramas of the Great War, the Spanish flu: many women are mourning in an early twentieth century austere and dreary. The couturiers adapt themselves, proposing small black dresses with the cuttings sober and obsolete. The little black dress is born.
Credit: Getty
Gabrielle Chanel and the little black dress
It was in 1926 that Gabrielle Chanel launched her model of little black dress. If the Parisian designer did not invent it, she made it the elegant and timeless piece we know today. Cut in a crepe sheath, crew neck, knee length, its creation detonates in a couture universe dominated by corseted cuts, drapes overloaded and ultra-refined materials. The scandal provoked is then to the extent of the expected success. The American magazine Vogue is at least at the time convinced and publishes a sketch of the little black dress, renaming it the "Ford of Chanel". Like the famous American automobile, it will sell a multitude around the world.
The little black dress, the seduction weapon of Hollywood
After the fashion editors, the Hollywood stars will be conquered. The return of a certain conservatism of clothing and the arrival of the "New Look" cut by Christian Dior make the little black dress a sexy and glamorous piece reserved for celebrities. Lauren Bacall, Elizabeth Taylor or Marylin Monroe will make their favorite outfit, capitalizing on its seductive potential. It is not for nothing that Betty Boop was drawn in a little strapless black dress. But it is finally Audrey Hepburn who, in the 60s, will make a cult dress in her role of Holly Golightly , heroine of the famous movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" .
Credit: Breakfast at Tiffany 's / Blake Edwards - Jurow Shepherd Productions 1961
In France, the little black dress will be the favorite piece of many icons of the Parisian scene, Edith Piaf, who wore one to not distract the public from his outfit, Catherine Deneuve , memorable in Yves Saint Laurent dress in Belle de Jour.
The little black dress, an eternal restart
Boy in the 20s, glamor in the fifties, a bit of rock in the 90s, fashion designers have reinvented the little black dress over the years. An inexhaustible source of inspiration, she dresses up all women: from the Oscar-winning actress to the overworked working girl , to the supermodel of podiums or the night owl of big cities. A must in sum that no one seems ready to tire of.
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Credit: Imaxtree
