The Evolution of the Little Black Dress

Introduction

The overall purpose of this paper is to explain the evolution of the little black dress, and how its symbolism created a sense of status throughout history. Diab (2022) states “What we wear speaks volumes about our identities. But the history of fashion reveals that various traditions in attire are not necessarily cut from a different cloth” (p.1). Some may view clothing as something we have to do to conceal our bodies, rather than an identity. Clothing has an extreme level of depth that the average consumer typically does not consider. It allows people to perceive you in a certain direction, allows self-expression, tells a story, and establishes an important piece of your identity. Different clothing styles have circulated through time to create an achieved level of status, and have had various symbolic meanings. An example of this is the Little Black Dress. 

Overview of the Little Black Dress

Imagine, you are getting ready for a busy day at work or a nice dinner and need a classy, elegant, versatile, and easily accessorized outfit. You reach into your closet and grab a black dress. The little black dress can be accessorized in so many ways, dressed up or down, and can be fitting for any occasion. Throughout history, everyone everywhere no matter class, status, or power has owned a piece of clothing that's a staple in their closet.  The little black dress has revolutionized women's fashion, the dress has been a status symbol as well as a staple in women's closets for decades. The color black also has deeply rooted symbolism that has represented many emotions throughout history. The Little black dress was made a status symbol by many icons such as; Audrey Hepburn, Princess Diana, and Marilyn Monroe. The little black dress was first brought to the public eye by Gabrielle Coco Chanel, in 1926 post world war 1. The textile industry was rationed for the war, and post-war the United States faced a depression. Affordability and a staple piece of clothing were key during this time. Chanel created a dress that remained in women's fashion forever. A little black dress can be used for many occasions. Gabrielle Chanel stated, “Thanks to me, they (nonwealthy) can walk around looking like millionaires”(Chanel, 1926). Although this was a status symbol, it made looking luxurious easy and accessible. Although Gabrielle Chanel is said to be the creator of the Little black dress. This paper will analyze the Little Black Dress throughout history by explaining the status of clothing, the symbolism of color, and the history of the dress regarding status. First, explain the status of the clothes, and then the symbolism of the color black before Chanel, and then go through the various periods after Chanel that shaped the dress. Overall, Gabrielle Chanel revolutionized the meaning of the Little black dress from the past and present.

A brief explanation of the status of clothes

Throughout history, clothing has had many different ways of distinguishing people by social and economic status. Studies dating back to Tang 618 regarding status involve how one portrays themselves through dress. During this time purple, scarlet, and green were only allowed to be worn by officials, and there were laws prohibiting others from wearing them. According to Garret (1994) “In 674 the emperor issued a decree to enforce this policy because unauthorized people were wearing these colors under their outer garments” (p.1). Recently in the last decade logos of a brand have had a huge influence on displaying wealth and status. The Cartier Love bracelet, Birkin bag, and Louboutin heels have been some of the many objects that have displayed wealth in the year 2021. Trends circulate through time, giving different items different levels of status. Now what may be popular could be different from what's popular in the past. Overall various subcultures' will determine levels of status throughout time.  Status symbols in clothing have been relevant for as long as costume and dress have been studied.

The symbolism of color

 In 1856, the price of dye was high, with this being said the color of clothing displayed status during this time (Moda, 2021). Purple is the color that represents this, during this time this color was only able to be sourced in a specific region, as well as England had a law making only the Royal family able to wear this (Moda, 2021). Making it have more value as well as this was before synthetic fibers were mass-produced. 

The color black has represented wealth, humility, power, evil, mourning, and luxury throughout history. Black has a deeply rooted symbolistic diverse meaning throughout time. For example, In the early 16th century, the color black for Spanish aristocrats and Dutch merchants represented wealth, as the color black was extremely expensive to produce (Puhak, 2017). The color black was sourced during this time from imported oak apples, making it expensive, with this being said the color black was used to establish status through the 16th century. This was before synthetic dye was made to lower the cost of dye. There is also a psychological aspect to color within clothing, in the science of people author Vanessa Edward explains how different colors in clothing can achieve a different feeling. For example, purple represents royalty, blue represents loyalty, and white represents purity (VanEdwards, 

The history of the Little black dress before Chanel

Before Gabrielle Chanel, the little black dress had a different status meaning. During the 14th century, when the merchant class arose (now closely related to the middle class) they were able to start wearing similar items to the higher class. The higher class during this time wore fur, big jewels, and colorful dresses, once the merchant class was able to adapt to this the higher class quickly adapted (Puhak, 2017). With this being said, as the merchant class arose the higher class changed to continue to adapt to their style, which caused them to adopt the black dress as a part of their daily wardrobe.  During the Victorian period, in the mid-1800s the black dress was seen as something of a lower status. As the peasants during this time wore this (Eschner, 2017)

Gabrielle Coco Chanel “Invents” the Little Black Dress

In 1926, otherwise called the “Roaring Twenties' ' Gabrielle Chanel introduced the Little black dress to the public. During this time, Ford cars were booming as well, so she referred to the dress as the Ford of dresses (Eschner, 2017). During this time, dresses were an everyday part of women's wardrobes which made having a black dress a versatile staple for all.  She also used textiles for this that was not common yet such as using jersey cloth. Gabrielle had the intention of creating a dress available to the broadest market, which the Little black dress did. With this, you can dress it up or down, accessorize it in different ways, and find many versatile occasions for it. Throughout history as other little black dresses arise, Gabrielle Chanel remains the visionary for all the black dresses to come to post her iconic look, she truly revised fashion for the time to come. 

As shown in figure 1, this is the first illustration of the little black dress, done by Gabrielle Chanel (Chanel, 1926).

Figure 1 

Gabrielle Chanel’s Little Black Dress Illustration

This era was post-World War 1 when the United States was facing the Great Depression. The war caused an economic recession which led to materials being rationed. Textiles amidst the war were prioritized for the war need, which caused the versatility of clothing necessary. Chanel's introduction to the Little Black Dress revolutionized this, Chanel states (1926), “Thanks to me, they (nonwealthy) can walk around looking like millionaires”(P. 1). 

World war 2

World war 2 caused a rise in the demand for women to enter the workforce due to men going off to war. With this, the Little black dress once again found itself being a staple in women's closets. During this time, working women adopted the little black dress. Similar to the first world war, textiles once again were being rationed for the war, which means the majority of common textiles were sent to be manufactured for the needed items to fight. This caused silk and wool to be prioritized for the war, while rayon, jersey, and cotton were used for the average consumer's closet. With the war creating a rise in demand for textiles, manufactured textiles started to upheaval in popularity. This also circles back to Gabrielle Chanel saying prior in my research Chanel states (1926), “Thanks to me, they (nonwealthy) can walk around looking like millionaires”(P. 1).  Shortly after WW2, there was a large-scale baby boom. With this, there was a large-scale increase in maternity wear. Smink Maternity Wear created a little black dress for pregnant women that incorporated snaps on each side making an adaptable dress for women (Polucha, 2016). With this being said, the little black dress was slowly circulated into all women's fashion. 

Breakfast at Tiffany’s and the Little Black Dress

During the 1960s the movie, “Breakfast at Tiffany's” was and continues to be an iconic movie in history. This Little black dress is seen to be a “black sheath dress of the utmost simplicity” (Reynaud, 2020).  Audrey Hepburn in this movie is seen wearing a black dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy, which remains to be one of the most iconic black dresses that has ever been seen in movies. This dress has been described as ultra-feminine, and Parasian, which helped this black dress gives the character identity in the film. Shown in figure 2 is one of the most iconic photos of Audrey Hepburn in this dress. This dress was said to have an original version made by Givenchy, which was a shorter version of the dress in this film (Cavello, 2019). This dress was also auctioned off in a 2006 auction. 

Figure 2

Breakfast at Tiffany’s Givenchy Dress

Sara Hodgson, a film specialist (2016) describes this as “one of the most famous black dresses of all time” (p. 2).  Later in the film, there is another version of the little black dress, which is a black, sleeveless, wrinkled silk dress also designed by Hubert De Givenchy (Reynaud, 2020).  This and Gabrielle Chanel’s remains the most popular to this day.

The grunge era (the 90s)

During the 90s, the little black dress became popular once again. 90s style embraced dark colors. A famous little black dress during this time was princess Dianas dress which was referred to as the “revenge dress” as she wore it the same night Prince Charles aired the tell-all documentary about his divorce (Brunker, 2021; Chilton 2021). This iconic Little black dress was an off-the-shoulder cocktail dress made by Greek Designer Christina Stambolin (Lang, 2022). This dress also made a statement as it was not the typical cut of a dress worn by the royal family. The royal family was only seen wearing extremely modest silhouettes of dresses. Princess Diana revolutionized fashion with the revenge dress as well as many other of her famous looks. Besides this dress, the color black itself was extremely popular in was post-80s when bright colors were in trend during this time. Shown in figure 3 is Princess Diana the night of the premiere of the Prince Charles documentary. 

Figure 3

Princess Diana’s Revenge Dress

 Besides Princess Diana's dress, the 90s style was predominantly colored black. So the average consumer also had a Little Black Dress in their wardrobe. 

Conclusion

The purpose of this research was to inform the reader of the deeply rooted symbolic history of the little black dress and what that means to history. The little black dress has a history that is documented back to 618 and has manifested its way into 2022 fashion. Although Gabrielle Chanel is the official person to create a name out of this dress, she is not the first to wear it. Despite the color black itself, colors have deeply rooted symbolism throughout history regarding history. The beautiful thing about fashion is that it's able to create a sense of identity in someone. The color and style can contain many symbolic meanings. Fashion can portray a sense of status that is deemed different in many cultures. The little black dress was able to do this greatly. Status in our cultures and sub cultures will continue to shape perception, and how we do this will be led by the great created such as Gabrielle Chanel who are able to shape this.