And yet with five minutes to go before my taxi arrives for the first of a season filled with office parties and family get together's, it's the LBD, my standby dress that I instinctively reach for. This perfect dress is to after 5pm dressing what jeans are to weekends - an essential.
Before becoming the "perfect party dress," the LBD was designated strictly to purposes of mourning. Widows would wear black dresses for a year after their husbands died out of respect. It wasn't until 1926, when Coco Chanel introduced her version of the "little black dress" to the world that it was embraced by the world of fashion.
In the next 80 years it became an essential item in every woman's wardrobe. The dress almost has a personality of it's own, it's a sign of personality and fun; think Audrey Hepburn in both Breakfast at Tiffany's and Sabrina. One of the most iconic songs from the 80's was Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love." The girls in the music video were seen as having the poser to hypnotize men in their Little Black Dresses. The Gucci inspired dress that Victoria wore as a Spice Girl made her Posh. More recently Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda, the women from Sex and the City, have kept the notion of adventure alive for the LBD with the DVD box from the series showing the girls in different versions of this perfect party dress. It is the most versatile piece of clothing you can own and can be dressed up, or dressed down depending on the choice of accessory and footwear.
Like a blank canvas or the perfect chameleon, the little black dress can be worn in different ways for day and with a few transformative accessory changes, the same dress can be ready for evening.
Here are some ideas.
1. Wear a black dress with a gray jacket, stud earrings, tights and pumps to the office. Wear the same dress with stilettos; chandelier earring and body shimmer for night.
2. Wear a little black dress with a strand of pearls, a draped shawl and killer stilettos for a sexy ladylike look to your boyfriends parents house. They will think you are demure and lady like and he will think you are sexy.
3. This year's leather bomber jacket can be worn over a little black dress to satisfy your inner fashionista and for warmth from November to January. Also the tough girl contrast against the soft and feminine dress creates an attractive air of mystery.
The perfect little black dress is far from ordinary because it is seasonless and the rules of fashion bend for the LBD. As Wallis Simpson, The Duchess of Windsor said, "When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place."
