Cinema Connection--Evolution of the Little Black Dress from 1927's IT

As everyone knows, there is nothing so timeless in fashion as the Little Black Dress.  The LBD, as many refer to it, is as close as one can get to a uniform in the fashion industry.  Countless designers, editors, and models--both in front of the camera and on the street--are dressed in black on a daily basis.  This goes for stylists and celebrities, too--red carpets of the award shows are always filled with black, including this year's Golden Globes (as you'll see below).  And because it is so flattering and versatile, the LBD has become a staple, an essential part of the foundation of most working women's wardrobes today.  As Chanel's head designer Karl Lagerfeld once said, "One is never overdressed or underdressed in a Little Black Dress."  It is important to remember, though, that this was not always the case, and much of what we take for granted today is due to a film I recently covered on GlamAmor--1927's silent classic It.   

As many know, Coco Chanel's October 1926 collection included her now iconic "Ford" dress (so named because, like the Model T Ford, it only came in black).  Today we speak with great reverence of this being the first LBD, but it's important to realize that it did not immediately catch on at the time.  In fact, Vogue only included a small sketch of the simple longsleeve black dress along with a rather understated caption:  

The Chanel “Ford”--the frock that all the world will wear is model 817 of black crepe de chine. The bodice blouses slightly at the front and sides and has a tight bolero at the back. Especially chic is the arrangement of tiny tucks which cross in front. Imported by Saks.

Though they do say it is a design that "all the world will wear," it hardly made that impression at first and was largely overshadowed by other more colorful couture of the day a la Patou, Paquin, and Lanvin.  But Paramount's legendary costume designer Travis Banton saw it and clearly sensed a shift in the style universe.  Within mere months, he chose to make a Little Black Dress the opening ensemble for Clara Bow in It.  Further, it was a dress that went from day to night, transformed courtesy of a makeover that would inspire many other films such as 1986's Pretty in Pink.

All of this was completely unheard of at the time.  Quite simply, before October 1926, women really only wore black to funerals.  Within only a couple months, when It had its premiere in February 1927, women considered working black into their everyday wardrobes.  It set us on the path for black to become the beauty basic it is today.  The final push would come in the 1950s and 1960s courtesy of two other movies and Hubert de Givenchy--Sabrina (1954) and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).  Though Chanel certainly deserves credit for drawing a historic line in the sand with the "Ford," it seems that the Little Black Dress would not have been accepted so widely and with such speed if Banton had not included it in his costumes for Clara.  That is the power of film.

1927's It is beloved by silent movie fans, but remains popular with a wider audience and continues to be culturally relevant because of costume design that was influential both then and now.  The film is a cornerstone of late 1920s design for any doing period pieces today, such as costume designers Mark Bridges in The Artist (2011) and Catherine Martin for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby (2013).  This goes for fashion designers, too--Clara's asymmetrical bobbed hair, trademark scarves, and sweater and accordion pleated skirt are just a few of the fantastic flapper looks from the movie that are on trend today.  But beyond the trends, It is an absolute landmark in fashion...significant to a degree that even the industry doesn't seem to fully appreciate.  In my opinion, It played a pivotal role in launching the legacy of the Little Black Dress.  Coco Chanel couldn't have asked for a bigger or better premiere.

Here is just some of the evolution of the LBD both on and off the screen--from the 1920s to the 1980s.

ABOVE: "Little Black Dress" exhibition at SCAD Museum of Art

presented by Vogue's Andre Leon Talley

Coco Chanel in the mid-1920s

and the sketch of her groundbreaking "Ford" dress that appeared in Vogue October 1926

Model in Chanel's "Ford" dress

1920s

Clara Bow's LBD in It (1927, above) made an immediate and lasting impact in fashion--
here's an example from the street in 1931

Molly Ringwald in 1986's Pretty in Pink takes several points of inspiration from Clara in It

right down to the movie's dress makeover scene

Clara in her LBD "makeover" stepping out for cocktails (above)

and a modern interpretation of that dress from Alaia for First Lady Michelle Obama

1930s

1930s style icon Kay Francis in off-the-shoulder black bias cut

and Emma Roberts in Lanvin at the 2014 Golden Globes

1940s

Rita Hayworth in Jean Louis for 1946's Gilda (above) 

and Jessica Chastain in Givenchy channeling that very style at the 2014 Golden Globes

1950s

Elizabeth Taylor became a trendsetter for her multiple strapless dresses from Edith Head in A Place in the Sun (1951, above)

and Sofia Vergara following her lead in Zac Posen at the 2014 Golden Globes

Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy in 1954's Sabrina was an iconic LBD moment (above)

that has inspired many other LBDs--especially with boatnecks--like Ellen Page at the Critic's Choice Awards

1960s

More iconic LBD moments came again from Audrey and Givenchy in 1961's Breakfast at Tiffany's (above)

and Eva Longoria in Victoria Beckham's 2013 descendant of the dress

1970s

Julie Christie's Norman Norell in 1975's Shampoo (above) continues to be influential

because of the statement it makes coming or going, as shown by Nicole Kidman on the red carpet

1980s

Michelle Pfieffer shows that the 80s still loved 1970s style with Scarface (1983)

and Rihanna channels that look on the Grammy's red carpet in Armani

Thanks to On This Day in Fashion for the information from Vogue 1926

Cinema Connection--Gloria Swanson is Fashion Forward in Early 1920s Style

Much of the pleasure in sharing Why Change Your Wife? (1920) with audiences is showing how early it comes in the history of film yet how enduring it is as an influence in the history of fashion.  For my classes, presentations, and webinars, 1920 is the year I chose as a mark of when our modern fashion began.  One could go a bit earlier and find similar style to be sure, but Why Change Your Wife? features such great examples of fashion from this time.  The early part of the 1920s was very different from the late 1920s, and it's fascinating to see where design was in its transition from Gibson Girl to Flapper.  Fabrics like velvet and silk brocade were deftly draped over the body, which rebelled against earlier restricted corseted clothes and led the way to loose-fitting dresses by end of the decade.  Designs also became much more revealing, from showing off shoulders to using slinky straps and baring the back.

In my opinion, no one embodied this time and its style better than Gloria Swanson.  1920 was perhaps the peak of her power in Hollywood and audiences absolutely adored her.  Read my recent article on Why Change Your Wife? and you'll begin to understand all the reasons why.  The world watched to see what she would wear both on and off the silver screen.  Fashion followed what she made popular, which is true both then and now.  Donna Karan is but one designer today who references this style again and again in her own collections.  Just look at some examples of how modern fashion continues to be inspired by Gloria and the costume design of Clare West in 1920's Why Change Your Wife?.  

ABOVE: one-shouldered trend at the 2008 Oscars

inspired by Gloria's gown from her magical movie makeover (below)

Gloria's dramatic dress touches upon another trend--the high-thigh slit--

which Angelina Jolie revisited in Versace for her grand entrance at the 2012 Oscars

The high-thigh slit trend then flooded fashion in 2012 and hasn't stopped since

Gloria in another one-shouldered gown,  a look that she made popular in the early 1920s

that carried into the 1930s and beloved by stars like Kay Francis (below)

Similar styles from Halston in the 1970s (above)

and Lanvin on Linda Evangelista in 2008

This velvet off-the-shoulder gown has inspired many in fashion,
especially Donna Karan and her iconic "cold shoulder" gowns (below)

Donna's "cold shoulder" gowns started in the 1990s and continue today (above from 2013),

a now classic design that has inspired many others like Ricki Freeman's velvet version (below)

The backs of Gloria's gowns are equally inspirational--another example from Donna Karan,

this time for Nina Debrov (in a design originally for Gwyneth Paltrow's green gown in Great Expectations)

Another great example of enduring early 1920s style--though even more revealing--

is this Golden Globes gown for Jennifer Lopez by Marchesa

Even Gloria's hair and accessories have continued to be inspirational,

including modern fashion icon Nicole Richie who repeatedly references the early 1920s in her own style

Style Essentials--Gloria Swanson Finds Fashion in 1920's WHY CHANGE YOUR WIFE?

When it comes to the HISTORY OF FASHION IN FILM, it all really begins with Gloria Swanson.  No one was as associated with style in the early part of the century as Gloria. She was arguably Hollywood's first clothes horse--both on and offscreen--and she became an international star largely because of the inspiration audiences found in her fashion. Cecil B. DeMille's Why Change Your Wife? (1920) showcases some of the best of early 1920s style, which was very different than the looks that came later in the decade courtesy of stars like Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, and Louise Brooks.  This was a transitional time between the Gibson Girl and the Flapper.  Experimentation and drama reigned supreme, and the petite Miss Swanson--only 5' tall--was its undisputed queen. Thus, I started my elite list of The Style Essentials with Why Change Your Wife?--iconic costumes from 1920 that are so shockingly modern, they continue to influence our design today. 

Like many early film stars who came from modest means, Gloria's identity and style owed so much to her director and costume designer. In her case, she lucked into two of the best who worked with her again and again--Cecil B. DeMille and Clare West (photo below).  Both were at the top of their game in Old Hollywood and took great care of their star.  Clare studied in Paris and was an accomplished fashion artist before coming to film, yet another example of a costume designer who began and/or ended their career in fashion.  Her very first film happened to be a giant--D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915). This led to her working with him again on Intolerance (1916), another giant in film history and one that Photoplay magazine reported was influencing fashion. Though not easily impressed, DeMille was so taken with Clare's talent that he took her away from Griffith and put her in charge of Paramount's wardrobe department. Along with other talents Paul Iribe and Mitchell Leisen, Clare became his costume designer in 1918 and would continue working on some of his biggest pictures until 1925.

DeMille adored Clare for many reasons.  First, she was meticulous about research. Like DeMille, her starting point for any historical film had to be based in fact. As a result, her costume research files were still being used by the studios well into the 1950s. Also like DeMille, though, she loved to do things that would "make people gasp."  Bigger was always better in his world, and he held a standing edict that any design on the screen should not be able to be bought in the stores.  The clothes should be a spectacle--a reason for coming to the theater.  Along with sex and sets, he recognized that costumes had the power to bring audiences in.  Films that did not feature fashion tended to dip or even bomb at the box office. As Gloria once said, "We had clearly found the formula for success...a never-ending parade of fabulous gowns." In this regard, DeMille was way ahead of his time and helped justify the almost all-inclusive costume design departments of the studio system.

Clare had several sources for Gloria's gowns.  At times, she would fly to Paris to shop for her star's wardrobe, whether offscreen or on.  Gloria could have 20 costume changes in one film, so stories of spending range anywhere from $150,000 a year to $250,000 a picture. No matter what you believe, these figures are all the more incredible considering this was a time when the average annual salary was only around $1,000.  But Clare also understood that the world of fashion was quickly changing and began relying more on her own original designs to make an impact on film. She created clothes that were known for their "outlandish sexual elegance" that included only the most luxurious details, such as pearls and peacock feathers.  She saw her clothes making such inroads with audiences that by 1923 she declared to Screen News that Hollywood had begun leading Europe in fashion.  Others, such as Adrian at MGM and Howard Greer at Paramount, were quick to agree. They were all witnessing the ascendance of Hollywood style.

It is this style that makes Why Change Your Wife? so exciting.  Even more exciting is that this is perhaps the first movie where its leading lady gets a makeover, a story line that would lead to many many others.  One of the most successful of the 1920s was Clara Bow's subtle makeover in It (1927) and this popular plot has continued through every decade, such as in favorite films of the 1980s and 90s like Pretty in Pink (1986), Working Girl (1988), and Pretty Woman (1990).  They all seem to start here--when dowdy wife Beth (Gloria Swanson) gets dumped for a model, divorces, and then finds fashion.  Her ex-husband becomes so smitten with her new look and attitude that he can't take his eyes off her.  That went for theater audiences, too.

Unfortunately, many have forgotten the magic of Why Change Your Wife?.  Up until a few years ago, it was virtually unheard of and there were only a handful of photos available online.  But I'm thrilled to say that since putting a spotlight on it as one of The Style Essentials, there has been a renewed rush of interest.  Multiple sites now share stills from the film and sing its praises, particularly focusing on the fashion.  This is nothing new to designers, though, who have always found inspiration in Gloria's gorgeous wardrobe.  Take a look at the related Cinema Connection post that shows many of Wife's enduring effects on design.

For those who have never seen it, Why Change Your Wife? is currently available in its entirety on GlamAmor's YouTube channel in the 1920s Style Essentials playlist.  You can also enjoy several stills from the movie below and see just why Gloria and her costumes are still so significant to fashion.

Beth (Gloria Swanson) shows us the ultimate 'before' (above) as a dowdy wife
and then 'after' as a divorcee who finds herself born again by fashion

Looking good is the best revenge--

Beth's makeover moment poolside (courtesy of costume designer Mitchell Leisen) 

impresses everyone, including her now ex-husband

The backs are often my favorite part of 1920s and 1930s dresses...

this standout sequin number from Clare West is but one from this movie that proves my point

This gown shows just how slinky some of these dresses could go--note the barely there straps--
and all the influential 1920s beading and hair accessories

Another sultry gown--this one with feather detail--is almost too much for Beth's ex

A velvet off-the-shoulder gown with a fur-trimmed sleeve

is perfect for fighting off the other woman

Beth is victorious and finds how useful fashion can be...
proving there is no reason to "change your wife"

Quotes were taken from Columbia University's great Women Film Pioneers Project

and Deborah Landis' book Dressed: A Century of Hollywood Costume Design