Black a dark blue tuxedo looked blacker than black itself. For women's fashion, the defining moment was the invention of the simple black dress by Coco Chanel in 1926. (See history.) Thereafter, a long black gown was used for formal occasions, while the simple black dress could be used for everything else. The designer Karl Lagerfeld, explaining why black was so popular, said: "Black is the color that goes with everything. If you're wearing black, you're on sure ground." Skirts have gone up and down and fashions have changed, but the black dress has not lost its position as the essential
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