The answer to the question, "What to wear?"....can't go
wrong with the iconic LITTLE BLACK DRESS. Believe it or not,
the origins of this "go to " garment are a fascinating blend of
HISTORY, DESIGNER influence and the rise of CINEMA in America.
Until the waning of the Edwardian Era, Black was reserved
exclusively for the socially complex protocol of women in mourning. Think Queen
Victoria, who after the death of The Prince Consort, her beloved Albert, wore
nothing but black forevermore.
It was, of course the French orphan, Gabrielle, who would
change all that. The ubiquitous black and white habits of the nuns in her
convent orphanage provided Coco a chance to train her eye. Many women, all
shapes and ages, draped in the same fabric. Sewing was taught as a matter of
course and it was these two skill sets that came together and changed the world.
It was the publication in American Vogue of Chanel's
short, black dress, a simple sheath in crepe-de-chine, with long closely fitting
sleeves, that spoke to all strata of women and became an instant hit.
Vogue proclaimed, "Here is a Ford signed 'Chanel.' " Because like the
Model-T, its very standardization inferred quality - transcended class
distinction, was obtainable by most women yet conferred instant style.
It's debut however stirred outrage by condemning
journalists who hissed, "Feminine fashion of this moment in the 20th century
will be baptized 'lop off everything.' " It was precisely the removal of the
proffered bust and derriere and the flattening of the belly that killed
the heretofore male contrived female fashion. Only Marilyn, decades
later is allowed tummy.....
Vogue, in the same publication, went on to
describe the little black dress, a "uniform" and thus it has been ever
since. The Great Depression only strengthened the black dress's hold as hard to
come by textiles made the production of the LBD affordable, while the emergence
of women in the workforce during and after WW 2 required a tasteful "uniform"
that could, with the addition of blazer, compete in the professional arena with
the male uniform of suit and tie.
It is hard to exaggerate the virulent push back this
deconstructed frock aroused. Two black dresses on display at the
Elegance pavilion at the 1925 Expo showed cropped arms and unsculptured design,
echoing the sleek new Art Deco Style. It was this brilliant innovation which
inspired Paul Poiret famous put-down, "What has Chanel invented? Poverty
de luxe. Formerly women were architectural, like the prows of ships, and very
beautiful. Now they resemble little undernourished telegraph clerks."! But
women, it seems, preferred telegraph clerk to ship prow....
Madam Chanel arrested at the Ritz, in 1944 as orders
from the Committee for Public Morals proved quite demoralizing. However, she
escaped the swastika forehead branding and nude parading other
females involved with Germans or suspected of collaboration were forced to
suffer. It is whispered The Duke of Westminster and Sir Winston Churchill
provided intervention.
Still, the great couturier closed her doors at Rue Cambon
and fled to Switzerland. The vacuum she left was soon filled by a man, Christian
Dior launching the overnight sensation dubbed, "The new Look."
Back came the feminine silhouette, albeit, in softer
contours. Soft shoulders, wasp waist, perfect cut, finish
and reams of material fed a hunger for sumptuousness for
which post war Paris and the world starved. Dior's little black dress,
by now as necessary to any collection as the wedding dress, described not a
telegraph clerk, but a voluptuous, dangerous woman. Femme-femme whose very
femaleness spelled doom, danger or divorce.
Hollywood in the fifties fed this
image. Dressing "fallen" women in black halter styles- corseting them in
stays and girdles, pronouncing their female sexual vulnerability -only to punish
and taint - roasting female character on the spit of new sexual conservatism.
The sixties, of course changed course and charted new
territory. Enter the Mod look, the Mini and Hubert de Givenchy.
Givenchy, the designer, whose dress Audrey Hepburn wore in the film
Breakfast at Tiffany's
sealed the fate for all time of the return of the simple
little black dress.
And Coco was back too, preaching logic in design, what,
ces messieurs, (her male competitors), couldn't grasp. "Ah no, definitely
no, men were not meant to dress women. Yet, she felt it was men, for whom women
dressed and desired to please.
The LITTLE BLACK DRESS and Coco Chanel were back!
Coco held the premier position in the haute couture market for the rest of her
life and beyond.
This HOLIDAY CELEBRATE, LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH and FIND
your UNIFORM for your next PARTY.
The beauty of the LBD is in it's versatility. In the
immortal words of the Greatest Couturier;
"Fashion is at once both caterpillar and butterfly. Be a
caterpillar by day and butterfly by night. Nothing could be more comfortable
than a caterpillar and nothing more made for love than a butterfly. There must
be dresses that crawl and dresses that fly. The butterfly does not go to market,
and the caterpillar does not go to a ball."
Depending on accessories, the LBD crawls and
flies.
Bienvenu a Pink Pig! Morph into one of our LBD
numbers - FLY into the New Year and into the ARMS OF LOVE!
Interesting and informative article! I've plenty of Chanel's books and she was way ahead of her time!
ReplyDeleteWho doesn't want a "little" Chanel!