Little Black Dress: From Mourning to Night

The book is an exhibition catalog that explores the topic of the color black and how it went from a traditional color of mourning to an essential item in almost every woman's wardrobe today. The catalog begins with Victorian mourning rituals and the attire that was considered appropriate for women during the different stages of grief. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, black was worn primarily as a symbol of mourning and loss. A widowed woman was considered in full mourning, which lasted for a year and a day, and was to wear plain black clothing with no decoration. "Second" and "half" mourning followed, which allowed for different kinds of fabrics and embellishments to be worn. Stages and time frames varied by a woman's relationship to the deceased. Besides mourning dresses from the collection, mourning jewelry and accessories are featured. The catalog then explores the transition of the color black into a fashion color. Between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries black worn for mourning and black worn for fashion were beginning to occur simultaneously. Fabric choices and trims help to distinguish the difference. Dresses from the collection ranging from 1880 to 1918 are shown in this section. In the 1920s designer Coco Chanel created a line of black dresses as a versatile and affordable option for women. Other designers quickly followed suit, and black has prevailed in the fashions of almost every decade since. A special section of the catalog is devoted to Chanel and her dresses. The remainder of the catalog is devoted to the little black dress, broken down into those that are worn for everyday versatility and those for evening wear--from the 1920s to the present. There is information pertaining to the designers, original owners, and historical context pertaining to the time period of each dress.