The History of Black Clothing
Black clothing has always conveyed a certain sense of the forbidden. In western movies and comic books, the outlaws wear black. Dracula wore a black cape. Black cats mean bad luck. Punks of the 70’s wore black to express defiance toward society, while Goths, an offshoot of punks, wear black to celebrate the dark side of life. And bondage clothing is, of course, always black.
In Edwardian and Victorian times, the fashion of black mourning clothes for widows was governed by strict rules of style. The mourning period lasted for 2 1/2 years, moving from the plain black garb of deep mourning to fancier black clothing with lace and ribbons, to black dresses with a few muted tones of neutral colour.
Wearing black conveyed respect for a dead husband – and clearly communicated a woman’s unavailability! Black clothing was a public expression of grief, considered essential for any woman of style and taste. But after World War I and the Spanish flu epidemic, the number of widows increased so much that it became almost common to see women in black.
Black clothing on women for anything other than mourning is a recent fashion trend, introduced early in the twentieth century by Parisian clothing designer Coco Chanel with the little black dress. Before that, a woman in black, if not in mourning, was considered to be in very bad taste – or even indecent! But when Chanel debuted the very first little black dress in 1926, it was an instant hit, and black clothing became an acceptable and popular choice for women everywhere.
The little black dress was classic, calf-length, tasteful and versatile. It was meant to be dressed up or down, accentuated with colour or not. It was simple and, being accessible in many different fabrics, designs, and prices, became an overnight success and a clothing staple in every modern woman’s closet.
Black clothing for women remained popular until the 1950’s, when a widespread attitude of repression returned it to a status of questionable choice, and women in black again took on the aura of bad character. This continued until the 1960’s, when wearing black was revived by the Givenchy designs worn by actress Audrey Hepburn in the film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.”
It then remained a fashion statement until the 1970’s, when it abruptly took a back seat to the loud and gaudy fashions of the disco era. Still, it remained a fashion statement, but only for the more self-assured fashionistas like Jackie Onassis and Bianca Jagger.
Black clothing resumed its fashionable position in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the little black dress easily holding its own throughout the “grunge” phase of the 90’s – even though it was sometimes paired with combat boots!
Black accessories do not appear to suffer the edgy status of black clothing, having always been appropriate. Any given outfit, paired with a black bag and shoes, will be generally acceptable without casting aspersions upon the character of the woman wearing them.