Chanel and the Dress Revolution

Every woman looks great wearing a dress, and every woman has at least one or more dresses in her closet. A dress, specially the little black dress, is the default date ensemble when it is one of those “I have nothing to wear” days. In fact, it is so popular, so necessary, and so much an institution in women’s fashion that we had to ask: “Where did the “little black dress” come from?”

To properly understand the fashion environment necessary to produce such a simplistically fabulous necessity (be it an elaborate cocktail dress, or a simple little black dress) for any wardrobe, we must visit the 1920′s. As women shed their long, layered dresses, cut their hair and enjoyed the fast-paced party life, society slowly became more accepting of women baring slightly more of her shoulders, back, and legs–in short donning themselves with sexy little cocktail dresses. The coveted dress silhouette of the era was generally very slender and youthful. It was during the 20′s that the legendary fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel first stitched her name into the history of women’s clothing design, specifically dress design. In fact, Chanel’s dress designs are often considered to be the epitome of the 20′s style because her work be it with accessories of dresses, was so fresh, modern, and updated.

Chanel encouraged and inspired the style we typically envision when we think of flappers (a very popular dress style in the 1920’s). She was fond of working with neutral colors for dresses and soft easy-to-wear jersey fabrics that were simple in shape and cut. Chanel was able to infuse comfort and sophistication into fashion and dresses, and this combination was considered revolutionary. It was during her early work, that Chanel designed and introduced the first little black dress to the world.

First introduced in 1926, black was previously considered to be a color reserved for funeral dresses and periods of mourning. Truly simple and sexy, Chanel’s dress design was a sleeveless sheath cut just above the knee. She could have never predicted the immediate and lasting love women would have with her simple, chic black dress.

As Chanel was quoted, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” Whether a woman’s little black dress cost $50 or $2,000 her intention is the same: to look effortlessly classic and appropriately sexy in just seconds. While most of us cannot afford to buy Chanel’s breathtakingly beautiful dress pieces, we can certainly wear our trusty black dresses with the modern, sophisticated attitude she possessed.