The Little Black Dress first made its appearance in May 1926 in an American issue of Vogue. It was a small pen and ink sketch of the calf length silk dress by Gabrielle ‘CoCo’ Chanel. Vogue compared the dress to Ford’s shiny new black motor car, both sleek, stylish and available to the masses. The dress suddenly caused uproar in the fashion industry as the colour black was previously associated with servants or morning.
“Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance. (Gabrielle ‘CoCo’ Chanel) To her modesty was the chicest way of proclaiming one’s superiority. she wanted to get rid of everything that put women at the mercy of convention, that got in their way, that slowed them down.” Edelman (1997 p20)
Chanel is now known as the creator of the Little Black Dress but it was not until 1961 that it really took off when the young Audrey Hepburn wore the definitive Little Black Dress in Breakfast at Tiffany’s designed by Hubert de Givenchy. This was not the first black dress Givenchy had designed for Hepburn, he also created two other successful pieces for the actress to wear in her films Sabrina 1954 and Funny Face 1957 but it was the iconic Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress that was named their chic style master piece. It was an instant hit and started a new craze for women in the 60’s.
Black appealed to Chanel with its practical nature, her attachment to the colour is said to be related to her moaning the death of her true love Arthur ‘Boy’ Capel. Some people say that her ‘desire to put the world into moaning for him’ led her to create the Little Black Dress. (Edelman 1997 p24).
Life in the 20‘s had started to change waist lines and the bust disappeared along with a shorter hem. For those who could afford it, they attend...
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...nything, the colour forgives the few extra pounds, compliments the figure and becomes a canvas of self expression and individuality.
“ Because of its sober styling the little black dress enhances the personality of the women wearing it.” Hubert de Givenchy
The little black dress solves every women’s problem of a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear, keeping up with latest trends while creating a fashion that has took off on its own. Every women can now own a Little Black Dress with technology and manufacturing of clothing changed over the years from the high street to haute couture there is a Little Black Dress for everyone.
The Little Black Dress is still appearing in the current designers collections including Chanel, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and many more.
Works Cited
Amy Holman Edelman- The little black dress 1997
www.onlydayinfashion.com
Although Collette Dinnigan’s style varies slightly from season to season the same philosophy “to produce beautiful pieces that are affordable, wearable, versatile and child friendly” remains constant as does her “passionate feeling for what women want” 2. This is especially evident in her Autumn/Winter 2008 collection ‘Midnight in Moscow’ where Dinnigan implements a more ominous theme making it luxury self-indulgence. The collection is dark with an armoured feel combined with silver hues and dark shades in gladiator-style dresses, girly pleated gowns and military-style jackets. The darkness of these designs contrast heavily with her tr...
This theme is evident in the doubling of stockings with the girl’s natural black legs. The red stockings, which represent sexual, material desires, are contrasted with the natural, elegant beauty of the legs of the black girl. The stockings highlight only the legs, separating them from the girl as a whole and allowing for easier objectification, specifically by young white males. However, the girl knows this, as she has put the stockings on and is being told so by the narrator, who represents the black community. The narrator also clearly recognizes the girl’s beauty, and her beauty is further highlighted in the fact that she is clothed in silk, which relates to royalty and comfortability.
In the article, “The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual” by Hanna Berry, Berry discusses how for decades women have been told to use certain products and that if they used those products they would be beautiful. Women over the years have believed this idea and would purchase items that promised to make them prettier, thinner, smarter and even more loved. However, in reality it was never what they wore on their bodies that helped them be any of those things; but what it did help with was to empower women to become fearless and bold by what they chose to wear on their bodies as a form of expression.
...s far as the author is concern, the fact that CoCo Chanel left the Victorian ideas and lived a life of her own made other women admire her. According to the author, clothing design was her star that raised her above other women. It would be better if other women would emulate her character and moral beliefs that should attract other women.
Kim Addonizio gives stereotypes a whole new meaning by closely looking into the most typical clichés there are. Out of the many clichés, she touches the lust for that one tight; flimsy, cheap, revealing dress. These clichés' scorn women for wanting to wear a dress that may be too revealing looks cheap or looks “too” tight. Many women are subjected to this stereotype because it “typically” doesn’t conform to others’ opinions. She mentions this in her poem by saying “ I want a red dress./I want it flimsy and cheap,/I want it too tight, I want to wear it/until someone tears it off of me.” (1-4). Addonizio
She uses herself as the surrogate of the self-possessed, modern black women.” The intention of this photograph in the series is to show a delicate and relatable moment between mother and daughter. This piece reminds me of my childhood. I used to go into my mother’s room and dress up in her clothes, jewelry, and makeup. My mom used to play dress up with me too. The concept of your “mom is your biggest role model” was true for me. As a result, I believe that concept really shows in this photograph. The daughter wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps and be a strong, beautiful
The color of clothing that the women wear is an important element because it helps to show the women’s power and privileges. The color of clothing a woman wears reflects how much freedom she will have. Th...
The most obvious piece of her outfit, and what caught my eye first, is her striped, short-sleeved dress. The best thing about a striped dress is that it’s extremely versatile and comfortable. This Fashionista had the right idea when she picked a dress with curved hemline. Striped dresses can feel monotonous with the wrong silhouette but hers look fun and flirty just through a change in the shape.
Coco Chanel, born Gabrielle Bonhuer Chanel, on August 19, 1883 in Saumur, France was an amazing woman who redefined fashion as we know it today. She was a clothing designer who revolutionized the fashion industry with her suits, little black dresses, and avant garde flare. Because of this quickly in her young life she became well know, and rose to be the fashion icon that she is today. From the timeless designs that are still popular to this day, and the sophisticated outfits that can be paired with great accessories Chanel has done it all. When it comes down to it though it was Coco Chanel’s philosophy that “luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it’s not luxury” that lead to her success. (“Coco Chanel”)
Because Madame Loisel was blessed with beauty, but she “had no fine dresses, no jewels, nothing. Yet luxury was all she cared about; she felt that she had been born for it. She wanted so much to give pleasure, to be envied, to be alluring and admired” and longed for a wealthy life, she wanted to dress like the wealthy when given the chance to mingle among them, but Madame Loisel believes she might be able to find a “suitable dress...for four hundred
Women used to dress very conservatively and strict before the turn of the decade. Clothing consisted of fitted dresses, long skirts, and corsets in lady like manners. Since the 1920’s brought women’s rights along, young women decided that they were not willing to waste away their young lives anymore being held down to the rules; they were going to enjoy life. The younger generations of women were breaking away from their old habits and their fashion statements changed their roles in society completely. Women were modeling their lives after popular icons...
Models of Rubens, Rembrandt, Gaugin and Matisse were all rounded, plump women.A plump and healthy women was admired as it reflected wealth and success.(14). Where as images of women have become slimmer since the 1950’s according to Jennifer A. (Australian journal of nutrition and dietetics).
In the lead up to this occasion Versace gave the dress to Hurley as a favour because she couldn’t afford one. Critics slammed the dress as “brash” and “overtly sexually charged”, To Versace’s defence (Hurley, 1994) stated “Unlike many other designers, Versace designs clothes to celebrate the female form rather than eliminate it.” The dress is revealing and subjects Hurley to be looked upon, the act of this “looking” elevated Hurley’s career, taking her from an unknown actress to being talked about on worldwide media outlets. To conclude Hurley’s gained from the male gaze as it helped boost her profile. It can be argued that she was used by Versace as a “mannequin” to model the dress and show off his designs as this occasion helped towards Versace becoming a house hold name.
Fashion takes on many different facets and concerns many subsets— a model sashaying down the runway in a gown encrusted in real gems, Lady Gaga’s infamous dress made of cuts of raw beef, a teenage girl obsessing over the season’s latest styles— it is all an expression of our minds and who we are or want to be, made tangible. It is a medium just like any other, for while artists wield brushes and paints, designers use thread and cloth to illustrate their vision. The artistry is none more so apparent than in the exclusive world of haute couture, a world of extravagance that caters to aesthetics, producing one-of-a-kind wearable masterpieces that are made to be admired rather than worn. It is without doubt, high fashion and its design is an art.
“The New Dress” is a 1994 short story by Virginia Woolf. The story features Mabel Waring, who goes to a party wearing a yellow colored dress. The dress is newly made purposely for this occasion. The story is about the dress that Mrs. Warning wore and felt that it is not good. My first reaction to the story is that the story is about the dress, and it caused large discomfort to Mabel Waring. The discomfort of Mrs. Waring was not mainly caused by the dress, but the writer used the dress to symbolize the social displacement Mrs. Waring was, that she felt that she was out of place due to her social class. The writer uses some stylistic devices to bring out the message of the story and to make it appealing to the reader. "The New Dress" was the