Little black dress Little black dress A little black dress (LBD) is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel and Jean Patou intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, accessible to the widest market possible and in a neutral colour. Its ubiquity is such that it is often simply referred to as the "LBD". The "little black dress" is considered essential to a complete wardrobe by many women and fashion observers, who believe it a "rule of fashion" that every woman should
Cocktail dress among the American elite. While French couture relied on travel and American department stores, American designers relied on fashion magazines, such as "Vogue" and "Vanity Fair", and the need to dress semi-formally for cocktail hour. In 1948, Christian Dior labeled this business-casual dress with the term "cocktail dress". This allowed department store to advertise specifically “cocktail” garments and accessories, increasing the growth of fashion stores. The craze for cocktail culture drove sales in cocktail merchandise as well, such as cocktail and martini-printed fabrics. The American cocktail dress could be anything from a "little black dress" to a floral-printed dress or