The Little Black Dress

If there's one women's fashion essential, it's the little black dress. Amy Edelman's homage to this chic wardrobe workhorse is a pleasure. She traces its popular acceptance to a 1926 Coco Chanel drawing that graced the pages of Vogue. The timing was no accident--women were stepping out in the world, shoving fussy, restrictive wear to the backs of their closets. The role of color is also examined: Black is the color of nuns' habits, of witches' wear, of clothes worn during periods of mourning. But it's also the color of allure, well represented by a bevy of beauties, from cartoon jazz baby Betty Boop to a lithe, black-sheathed Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly. ("It was a warm evening, nearly summer, and she wore a slim cool black dress, black sandals, a pearl choker....") The little black dress is lovingly photographed and illustrated in this work. Plain and not-so-simple, The Little Black Dress is a delight.