The Little Black Dress

Vision Gallery and Fashion by Robert Black 

presents "The Little Black Dress: Through

The Decades" through Oct. 25.

The "Little Black Dress", or what has become known as the “LBD,” is considered a fashion staple. No fashion forward woman worth her salt is without one. The classic tale of the little black dress began in 1926 when Coco Chanel published a picture in American Vogue of a classically elegant, calf length, simple black dress. The crowds went wild. Vogue magazine hailed it as “Chanel’s Ford,” like the Model T, the little black dress became a versatile, affordable fashion icon.

Today it is considered a rule of fashion for women to own a little black dress. Over the decades, the LBD has been reimagined and redesigned time and time again. The magic of the LBD is simple, it can be worn for almost any social occasion, it can be subdued in its classic lines for professional gatherings or it can be accessorized for evening. Over the course of time, every milieu of fashion has put its mark on the LBD, from Hollywood to best designers over the decades.

This exhibit is designed to celebrate some of the most glamorous, the most understated and the most over the top examples of the LBD. All examples of the LBD in this exhibition are on loan from Fashion by Robert Black of Scottsdale.

                                              House of Chanel, 1990's

The Little Black Dress: Through The Decades, includes dresses from:

Gilbert Adrian, Geoffrey Beene, Mr. Blackwell, Bill Blass, Donald Brooks, Pierre Cardin, Coco Chanel, Victor Costa, Hubert de Givenchy, Christian Dior, Tom Ford for Gucci, James Galanos, Jean Paul Gaultier, Rudi Gernreich, Howard Greer, Roy Halston, North Beach Leather Michael Hoban, Peggy Hunt, Marc Jacobs, Norma Kamali, Patrick Kelly, Bud Kilpatrick, Don Loper, Franco Moschino, Todd Oldham, Emilio Pucci, Helen Rose, Maggie Rouf, Alfred Shaheen, Gloria Swanson, William Travilla, Emanuel Ungaro, Gianni Versace, Dan Werle, Yohji Yamamoto and local designers Galina Couture, Angela Johnson and Joy Li.'

         Gilbert Adrian dress                                                                                    Roy Halston dress, 1970's 

            Don Loper dress and Howard Greer dress                                                     Unknown designer *

*  The curator of the exhibition stated that in those eras the tags were cut out of the dresses so as not to have to pay taxes or duty on them.