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
Granny dress An article describing the "new craze" credited the origin to Los Angeles. An apocryphal story about the origin of the dress was that it came into fashion after a dancer was told by a television disc jockey that her dress was too short. In response, the dancer found a floor-length dress to wear and started a fashion craze. Another apocryphal origin story had an old woman wearing such a dress on a tour of "night spots" in Los Angeles. The woman's youthful vigor "attracted attention" and a designer, believing her style of dress helped her stay active, copied her dress