How much do you love your little black dress?
Are we all in search of a soul mate? Someone that simply understands us, compliments us and makes us feel our very best?
I have found my perfect match…the Little Black Dress, which never lets me down.
An Ode to The Little Black Dress
If I want a dress that listens to my body – something that is sometimes flirty or sometimes forgiving, it’s the Little Black Dress. If it’s been a long day and I have to quickly get ready for a party or dinner, the Little Black Dress is the answer. If I want to make a statement – I can still turn to the Little Black Dress. The Little Black Dress is like a second skin.
A love affair that started with Coco Chanel.
Coco Chanel is praised for the creation of the little black dress in the mid 1920s– a chic crepe de chine affair – This beauty of the ‘little black dress’ was its simplicity and accessibility. Coco Chanel created a dress for all women – or at least a template that all women could sign up for. It became a signature style of the chic 1920s and beyond.
Madame X and the Little Black Dress
I think we can go back further still – I love Madame X – a striking portrait by John Singer Sargeant dating from 1834 – Madame X wears a long black dress – She gazes into the distance – looking empowered and slightly defiant. The picture at first created some controversy as the strap on one side fell seductively off her shoulder – Sargant repainted it. I think today Madame X would have chosen Fara’s Zoe Dress in hemp modal, black of course!
Audrey Hepburn
We might also think of the epitome of the little black dress – Audrey Hepburn in Givenchy gazing into the window at Tiffany’s. She portrays herself as the ultimate free spirit – she is dressed in her party outfit from the night before – but the undertow of the film is her need to feel loved…she is a woman in search of a deeper connection.
Marilyn Monroe
In fact if we were to think of the two most iconic dresses in movie history – we have Audrey Hepburn in the silhouette hugging black number vs. Marilyn’s white skirt blowing up above the air vent in Seven Year Itch. But when Marilyn was off screen – she often reached out for the little black dress.
Princess Diana
What was Diana thinking when she reached for her classic Little Black Dress in the 90s – the off-the-shoulder body-con dress – again to feel comfortable in her own skin? To reclaim a part of her self? In one dress she stepped from fairytale princess to fashion icon. It was dubbed the ‘revenge dress’ when she stepped out after her divorce. The little black dress as a statement of intent.
The Little Black Dress is iconic. It is rarely flashy. But then sometimes it is.
Liz Hurley
Liz Hurley’s little black dress held together by gold safety pins, care of Versace, is etched into our memories – another icon. And, Lady Gaga who has made so many headlines with her dress choices still turns heads with voluminous black tulle, cropped just above the knee like a sexy black swan while she was promoting House of Gucci earlier in 2022.
Lady Gaga
So we might want different things from our little black dress – we might want seductive and alluring, sexy and empowering, playful and flirty or show-stopping…
Certainly we are not aiming to blend in.
The legacy of the Little Black Dress lives on.
A well-cut black dress with a hint of shoulder or bare legs, boots or sometimes heels, a good lipstick – what else do we really need?
The perfect little black dress is effortless and timeless – it becomes an extension of who we are. It’s our go-to piece which makes us feel that all is right in the world, so when we reach out for it, what are we asking?
It’s sustainable as it can outlive any current fashion or trend. So choose consciously – touch the fabric and listen – what does it say to you? Are you ready to be in a long-time love affair with this dress?
In search of the perfect soul mate, the perfect little black dress…FARA has created an answer in six different styles… six different moods…
An Ode to the Little Black Dress
Oh how I love thee, let me count the ways…
For a twist on the classic Little Black Dress, I reach for the Lana Dress with an asymmetric hem – it hangs just above the knee in front but has a deeper train at the back. The Lana Dress is sensual silk but has a playful edge. It’s my go-to, barely there, don’t have to think about it – perfect dress.
PLUNGING V LBD
The Flora Dress – Thin spaghetti straps give way to a plunging V at the back – with another layer of soft silk highlighting my décolletage. Bias cut hugs my body and sways with every move, wrapping me in delicate, sensual silk. If Marilyn had to choose – she would probably choose the Flora Dress.
Quite possibly the Zoe Dress is the ultimate show-stopper – luxurious hemp modal with a plunging neckline and a generous skirt that hangs from the gathered bust. Thinking back to Liz Hurley, her choice was risky and rebellious – I think the Zoe Dress is a more classic twist but still has the edge – certainly Hurley was aiming to stop the show…and traffic.
When you want to feel sophisticated, the Zen Maxi Dress is the FARA classic –a sexy pool of black silk that cascades to the floor. Thin straps grace the shoulders, and silk rests effortlessly on my skin.
When I want to feel like a goddess, the Orissa Dress is an inspiration. Elegant hemp modal with an empire line waist, a skirt that falls to the floor, and a high front slit that hints at my legs as I move. I love Orissa’s flowing sleeves and effortless magic. I feel that Diana was on point and would have chosen this goddess dress.
I’m in love with the soft Hemp Modal fabric – softer than cotton and less demanding than silk. The Willow Dress is hemp and sexy – Bias cut with barely-there straps . Simple and seductive, alluring and empowered.
LITTLE BLACK PLAYSUIT
When is a little black dress not a little black dress? When it’s a playsuit…
So my love affair with the Little Black Dress is solid – but sometimes tempestuous and sometimes I dream of having a tryst with something else – the LBP…little black playsuit…It reminds me of yet another icon – Helmut Lang capturing Isabella Rossellini…the playsuit is short, sexy, and to-the-point.
So six little black dresses…almost one for every day of the week… and lucky number 7 – the Mia Playsuit…
1 comment