LBD

Four short years ago, my college public speaking professor charged the class to write a speech about something that changed us; something that made us who we are today.

Most people stood in front of the class and spoke of their beautiful grandmothers who battled cancer while having to raise 3 of her grandchildren, brothers who had gone couragously into Afghanistan to fight the war on terror, or their childhood dog and bestfriend who saved them from drowning in their own backyard pond.

As I was sitting in the back of the classroom, I was thinking, "Well, these people have some pretty serious issues that they have lived through." Nonetheless, I was still confident in my topic and felt it may lighten the mood a bit. My "thing" wasn't something that just made me who I am, but something that has made women everywhere, who they are today. Or so I believed (and still do).

I approached the podium with confidence, although my voice was a bit shaky at first. I began to speak, and this is what I said:

Every woman looks great wearing it, and every woman has her own.  It is the default date ensemble when it is one of those “I have nothing to wear” days. In fact, it is so popular, so necessary, and so much an institution in women’s fashion that everyone must know: “Where did the ‘little black dress’ come from?”

To properly understand the atmosphere necessary to produce such a simplistically fabulous necessity for any wardrobe, we must visit the 1920’s. As women shed their long, layered dresses, cut their hair and enjoyed the fast-paced party life, society slowly became more accepting of women showing more of her shoulders, back, and legs. The popular silhouette of the era was very slender and youthful.

It was during the 20's that the legendary fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel first stitched her name into the history of women’s clothing design. In fact, Chanel’s designs are often considered to be the personification of the 20’s style because her work was so fresh, modern, and updated.

During her early work, Chanel designed and introduced the first little black dress to the world. Black was previously considered to be a color reserved for funerals and periods of mourning until it was reintroduced in 1926. Simple and sexy, Chanel’s design was sleeveless and cut just above the knee. She could have never predicted the immediate and lasting love women would have with her simple, chic black dress.

Chanel was quoted saying, “Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.” Whether a woman’s little black dress cost $50 or $2,000, her intention is the same: to look effortlessly classic and appropriately sexy in just seconds. While most of us cannot afford to buy Chanel’s breathtakingly beautiful pieces, we can certainly wear our trusty black dresses with the modern, sophisticated attitude she possessed.

The speech feel right into our 3-5 minute allotted time, but nothing but blank stares looked back at me. My professor just sat there writing notes, and never looked me in the eye once I finished. After class, people asked where I got the idea to write about something so frivilous when we had gotten an assignment that seemed so serious. Well, to me, the little black dress is serious. It's my best friend, and just like that boy's dog that saved him from drowning, the little black dress has saved me many times. I made a C on that assignment.