Famous Little Black Dresses
Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s dress designed by Hubert de Givenchy epitomized the standard for wearing little black dresses, accessorized with pearls, as was frequently seen throughout the early 1960s. The dress set a record in 2006 when it was auctioned for £410,000 - six times its original estimate. Betty Boop, a cartoon character based in part on the 1920s' "It Girl" Clara Bow, was drawn wearing a little black dress in her early films, though with Technicolor, Betty's dress became red.
Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor, was known to own several little black dresses and said much in praise of the garments. One quote of the Duchess: "When a little black dress is right, there is nothing else to wear in its place." Edith Piaf, the French folk icon, performed in a black sheath dress throughout her career: for this habit she was nicknamed “little black sparrow." It was thought that the dress helped audiences focus more on Piaf's singing and less on her appearance.
In the notorious "Covent Garden incident", a director at London's Covent Garden theatre fired the then-obese soprano Deborah Voigt from an opera because she could not fit into a "little black cocktail dress", replacing her with the slimmer Anne Schwanewilms.
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Famous quotes containing the words famous, black and/or dresses:
“John Gilpin was a citizen
Of credit and renown,
A train-band captain eke was he
Of famous London town.”
—William Cowper (1731–1800)
“If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with course black hair, and grey eyes—no other marks or brands recollected.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)
“The mark of the man of the world is absence of pretension. He does not make a speech; he takes a low business-tone, avoids all brag, is nobody, dresses plainly, promises not at all, performs much, speaks in monosyllables, hugs his fact. He calls his employment by its lowest name, and so takes from evil tongues their sharpest weapon. His conversation clings to the weather and the news, yet he allows himself to be surprised into thought, and the unlocking of his learning and philosophy.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)