How the Little Black Dress Got to Be Black, and Little

The ubiquitous little black dress can be the foundation of a recession-friendly wardrobe. But Coco Chanel—widely credited with inventing the LBD—actually just brought it from strict and severe to chic and sophisticated. Double X explores the history of this staple in women’s closets:

• Centuries ago, black was worn by the clergy and aristocrats. In the 17th century, Dutch burghers brought it to the masses.

• In the 18th century, black was also a color for rebellious women to wear, thumbing a nose at the pastels of the day.
• The tailor-made women’s suit, introduced in the 1880s, was a precursor to the little black dress.
• After World War II, the big black dress came on the scene—Dior’s model weighed nearly 7 pounds.
• By the 1950s, as one woman recalled in an oral history, “if there were 10 women at a party, nine would be in black.”

For more history, click the link below.