Don't Forget The Staple: Little Black Dress (LBD)

The little black dress, the LBD, or as I like to call it old faithful. The little black dress is a major stable in a woman's wardrobe. I'm not kidding when I say if you were given ONE item to wear for the rest of your life it should probably be a black dress. Why? because these babies are the most versitile piece of clothing that you will ever own. I can't think of an occasion where you can't pull of an LBD. But not all little black dresses are created equally. How do you know which one is for you?

Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel

I usually do a long history of a staple when I do one these post but the little black dress has a very short history. From what I have learned the earliest sighting of this wonderful little joy of simplicity is from Chanel back in the 1920s. This doesn't surprise me or any fashion historian because Coco Chanel was a mother of modern womenswear. She took us out of the days where heavy under garments were needed in order to create a women's look. So if you are going to thank anyone in the world that you aren't wearing pantaloons and girdles while riding the subway to work it would be Chanel.

Zipping through the 50s when Christan Dior debut " The New Look" he brought back the A-line look of dresses from the 19th century but with of less of the bells and whistles that were required of clothes of decades past. The 60s brought in the shift dress (a dress without darts or shaping), which really emphasized the simplicity of the little black dress. Even though this dress has been around for decades, designers never mess with the simplicity of this dress, there is no need to reinvent the wheel with a LBD.

As stated before, not all little black dresses are not created equally. There are things to consider when buying an LBD and they are the same things you consider when you're buying any other dress. Fit and proportion are the main things to rememeber when going out to buy a fabulous dress. Pretty easy to remember right?

Fit is probably the hardest for women to get exactly right because women tend to hold on freaking tight to the number on the back of a dress. Let me tell you a little secret about the fashion industry:

THERE IS NO STANDARDIZE SIZING IN FASHION. Yes you read that correctly, there is no standard size in fashion. Every company has its own sizing system, this is why you are a size 8 in Holster and a 4 at Betsey Johnson. So now that the cat is out the bag quit griping over that stupid number.

If you're going to worry about some numbers watch your measurements and that's it. Wear what FITS you, not what size it is in. I can't tell you how many times I have seen women laid out on the floor of the dressing room because their size 8 doesn't fit and they have been doing zumba workouts all week. I just want to scream:  "Let it go sister! Get a 10 and keep it moving!"

Make sure your dress fits well across the bust without sagging in the front or if you have more of an ample bosom make sure there is no pulling across the bust meaning you shouldn't see any diagonal ridges in the fabric and you shouldn't be spilling out the top or sides. I see this mistake often and honey that is not a cute look walking around looking like a busted can of biscuits. The same pulling can occur around the widest parts of your body as well so watch for that around the hips and booty. What you want is a clean flat front and back that hugs around your curves without distraction.

Slight A-Line dress on a slender figure

Proportion is another big one that is often hard to figure out but once you get the hang of it you will be good to go. Most women essentially want the illusion of an hourglass figure but only a few women are actually built that way so for the rest of us we have to make up for it. If you happen to have a petite, boyish frame you can pretty much get away with wearing a variety of cuts but if you want to give yourself the illusion of an hour glass wear an A-Line dress that fits well up top and flares out at the waist to give you more of an hour glass figure. Because you are so tiny you can wear a simple shift dress as well, much like the dresses worn by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. She had the exact frame and if you follow her career any you can see the variety of cuts she wore.

If you have broad shoulders and a narrow hip, I would say stick with a dress with a slight A-line as well. Avoid super tight pencil dresses as they emphasize your shoulders too much, what you want to achieve is a soft balance.

If you are a curvy woman, you can never go wrong with a wrap dress or a dress with some sort of darting or a tie that will draw attention to the waist. Creating an illusion of a cinch or just cinching in that waist will easily give you an hour glass look.

No matter what your figure is, if in doubt find an A-line dress. A-lines look great on most body types and range from a slight flare from the waist to very large. Play with different lengths of your LBD as well. The classic cut of an LBS is about cocktail length which is right above the knee, you can never go wrong with this length because is sophisticated yet gives enough leg to keep things interesting.


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