LBD - The Little Black Dress

A little black dress is a special evening or cocktail dress - generally of a simple, elegant cut.

Coco Chanel is credited with the creation of the LBD in the 1920s - her intention was to design a dress to be long lasting and versatile in a neutral colour.

The little black dress grew in popularity through the Great Depression and Second World War due to its simplicity and economy of fabric.

Hollywood leading ladies projected the little black dress to the silver screen, epitomised by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Coco Chanel designed and published her short, simple black dress in American Vogue in 1926.

The first little black dress was a calf-length, long-sleeved straight dress, made in wool for day wear and crepe, satin or velvet for evening wear. Later variations included sleeveless, lace, pleated and chiffon designs.

Vogue dubbed the 1926 LBD the "Chanel Ford" after the Model T Ford, due to its simplicity and accessibility for women of all social classes. It predicted that the LBD would become a "sort of uniform for all women of taste".

The Chanel little black dress is an everlasting symbol of sophisticated chic and has been copied and varied many times over to please ongoing generations of stylish women worldwide.

Hubert de Givenchy's little black dress for Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's established the new standard for little black dresses beyond the classic Coco Chanel version.

The common accessories in Givenchy's and Chanel's vision of little black dresses were pearls and camelias.

This Holly Golightly gown sold at Christie's auction in London in 2006 for $US923,187.