The little black dress

The little black dress is an evening or cocktail dress, originally made popular in the 1920's by the fashion designer Coco Chanel. Intended by Chanel to be a long lasting, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral color. The little black dress is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and fashion observers, who believe it is "a rule of fashion" that every woman should own a little black dress. In 1926 Gabrielle Chanel published a picture of a short, simple black dress in Vogue. Vogue called is "Chanel's Ford", like the Model T, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes. Vogue also said hat the little black dress would become "a sort of uniform for all women of taste". 

Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's epitomized the Chanel ideal by wearing black dresses, accessorized with pearls, as was frequently seen throughout the early 1960's. Betty Boop, a cartoon character, one of the 1920's "it girls" was drawn wearing a little black dress in her early films, though with Technicolor, Betty's dress became red.

Even though the idea behind the dress was that it should be a dress every woman could afford, Chanel makes some of the worlds most expensive dresses.