Assignment 7 - Ella Franklin

On September 24, 1926, Vogue's October issue hit shelves.

We care about the October 1926 issue more than we do the September 2016 issue with Kendall Jenner as the covergirl (even though the the September issue is notably the most important of the year) because the October 1926 issue introduced a fashion staple: the little black dress.

Every woman, from Marilyn Monroe to Princess Diana, has worn one. But they wore one after September 24, 1926.

Coco Chanel designed the dress. If you are a woman who wears clothes, Coco Chanel is your hero. She is the reason we can all dress casually. First, she designed jersey fabric, the fabric you're probably wearing right now. Then she used this fabric to make a simply silhouetted black dress.

We see black clothes everywhere now. But before September 24, 1926, black was reserved for mourning. I remember in elementary school they told us that Mary Todd Lincoln wore black for two years after Abraham Lincoln's death. That seems weird, but that was what was expected of her. Widows were expected to only wear black for years after their husband's death. It wasn't just because they liked black, either. They couldn't have worn black in any other scenario.

But, once Coco Chanel introduced the little black dress in this issue of Vogue, black was the new white. Or any other color really. A color and silhouette that never would've been worn together before was now acceptable for chic women on the go - and we haven't turned back since.

Also, fun fact: during WWII Coco Chanel was a French spy. People thought she was too comfortable with Germans.