The Little Black Dress (or LBD as it's commonly referred to by the fashion pack)... three little words that send a wave of comfort through my veins like Horlicks on a chilly Sunday afternoon in mid-Winter. And, with my brother -in-law's wedding fast approaching – the last of the big family weddings – I find myself re-opening the quest for the perfect LBD.
It's all Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel's fault... In 1926 American Vogue published a picture of a short, simple black dress and a legend was born. The magazine called it 'Chanel's Ford' – Like the Model T, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes – “a sort of uniform for all women of taste.”
I like to consider myself a woman of taste (choosing of course to forget that I ever owned peddle pushers, white pleather bell bottoms or that particularly dodgy fringed suede bikini top that looked like it was stolen from the set of the 2000 film 'Coyote Ugly') and so for years I have been searching for the perfect LBD. I have over the past few years accumulated several black dresses that I thought may be 'the one' but, much like my dating life before meeting hubby, the initial infatuation didn't last...
The Crush (great for a party, not so great for a funeral)
In 2006 I experienced the feeling of my very first proper crush on an item of clothing... a Marion & Lindie black dress – knee-length, high-backed, plunging neckline, fit like a glove. I had just been paid my Christmas bonus and thought I'd take an innocent stroll past the boutiques en route to Woolies. I was stopped dead in my tracks by the dress in the shop window and 15 minutes later was walking out, black & orange branded bag proudly dangling on my shoulder. Let's put it this way... I wore it out on New Years' eve and didn't pay for a single one of the many (many) glasses of champers I consumed.
The Oh no I didn't, did I?!? (a.k.a "Why did you let me have that third tequila?")
Mid-2009 tulip hems and bubble dresses were all the rage and like any good, flash in the pan trend, when it first burst onto the scene (pun intended) I swore blind I'd never, ever go there. But after seeing it (working in Sandton is tantamount to brainwashing at times) everywhere and on everyone for several weeks I just 'had to have one'. So I hunted and hunted and eventually tracked down a black satin one at a price I could justify at a store that carried clothing in sizes larger than stick insect. The day I wore it I felt fabulous. The day I saw the photographs of me in it? Well, let's just say that dress is stuffed as far into the back of my wardrobe as the mental images are stuffed away in the back of my mind.
The pleasant guy (kinda ticks all the boxes but there's just no spark)
In December 2009 hubby bought me a great little dress from Woolies's Twist range – paneled, strapless, boned, fitted to the just above the knee with fab pockets. Did I mention I love the irreverence of a dress with pockets? Anyway, It's a great dress and it's black, but that doesn't make it a great LBD. As LBDs go it's pleasant. Don't get me wrong, pleasant is good. It's waaaaay better than 'oh no I didn't! Did I?!?' Pleasant doesn't break your heart or in this case the bank. Pleasant doesn't throw you under a bus, but it doesn't stop traffic either. Pleasant is perfect for a brunch or a lunch date but doesn't quite have the 'oomph' necessary for painting the town red.
So, as you can see from the above three examples, I'm still searching for my Mr.Right when it comes to the LBD. I'm still searching for that symphony of black fabric that hugs the good curves, skims the bulges, perks up the posterior and lifts 'the girls' without my having to wear an over the shoulder boulder holder. Oh, and did I mention that it has to fit my budget too? *sigh* Wish me luck... I have 'til the 28th of August.
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