Core Wardrobe: Little Black Dress

Tina, here.

The Little Black Dress. LBD. You have to have one. In fact I supply new options quite often in the Vault because we’re always getting new members and it’s one of those core wardrobe staples you have to have, so I want new members to catch up with everyone else. And it's always a hugely popular item. That six-year-old wool number in the back of your closet you got on clearance, and don't even really like, that you pull out once a year to wear to a funeral and an important meeting is not helping you create an Audrey Hepburn aura. Life is too short to wear clothes you don't like, and it’s time to update. Mkay cupcakes?

Here's mine. Ok, one of mine. I have one with sleeves, too. You want a year-round fabric so you can wear it as easily to a fall luncheon with boots as you can to a summer awards show with sparkly heels. Keep reading to see how to wear yours this winter. And if you aren't happy with your Little Black Dress, you can shop the new one I featured in the January Style Vault. It has sleeves!

Here's how I wore my LBD last summer, with a white denim jacket. I happen to think a denim jacket is also a core wardrobe staple. I actually found a fabulous off-white, ivory denim jacket that I included in the January Style Vault for those friends who don't wear stark white.

And here we have the fall edition of my LBD with an animal print short sleeve jacket. You could also wear brown boots and a leather jacket with it for a more casual look.

And in winter we wear fur. Faux is fine. I have been having a thing with short sleeve jackets ever since I saw the women in Paris wearing them.

I want you to wear your black dress all the time. With boots and a denim jacket to a tailgate party. With heels and a leather jacket out to dinner. You can also put a black leather jacket over it and it reads as a suit (the jacket just needs to be a different texture so it doesn’t look like you tried to match the dress and failed); or add sparkly heels and a pashmina and it’s suddenly cocktail party-ready. And yes, wear it to funerals. Just please don’t wear your old one – that is no way to respect someone, by wearing a dress you don’t feel good in which causes you to be thinking about yourself instead of the person who you’re paying your respects to. And that is why we do what we do. We dress people so you can get on with living your lives rather than worrying about something as silly as clothes.

LBD with a fancy topper for a party.

A bare leg is fine. But you can wear black sheer hose with an LBD for dressier occasions, and opaque black tights when you are a bit more casual. Shop my fave black patent pumps (heels, flats, and all widths available) in the January Style Vault Bonus Issue, 12 Core Wardrobe Staples Every Woman Needs.

LBD with a blazer for a business meeting.

Suits are so 1980. Not really, it's that there are fewer and fewer occasions for men or women to wear 3 piece suits anymore. But I still love a suit-adjacent look. Which can be achieved with your LBD and a blazer. If you're wearing a black blazer, as long as the textures are different (like wool and leather or cotton and linen) you're fine. Add a pump in a non-black color for something different.

We've covered how much I adore the look of wearing a jacket tossed over your shoulders, right? Try it.

LBD with a cardi and flats for just runnin' around.

You can make your little black dress look casz by wearing it with a cardigan (MUST be fitted) and flats. Tights are fine, too, just make sure you get one long line by matching the color of the tights to your shoes or your dress.

You can really make it fun by adding a tooled leather belt. I just put one in the Style Notes section of the January Style Vault.

I'm sorry, but do I have the whitest legs you've ever seen? Oh well. Flats get you moving when heels can't. Just added my fave pair of animal print flats to the Style Notes section of the January Style Vault.

Turquoise jewelry is a great way to take down an LBD a few notches to make it more "daytime."

What about the LGD? The Little Grey Dress? It's the sister of the LBD, and may be more flattering to your skin tone than a deep, rich black. Plus, with grey, you can wear it with colorful accessories like pretty scarves and jewelry, whereas with black I like mostly neutral accessories. And you can wear brown boots, black patent pumps, nude pumps, animal-print, even red shoes, with a grey dress.

Here's my LGD I featured last spring (with my turquoise necklace!). I decided it was so dang useful that I made it one of the 12 Core Wardrobe Staples Every Woman Needs. Join the Style Vault to shop your own LBD and LGD, plus all the other fab finds. Vault Insiders are saving over $1,300 this month!

Be sure to keep reading our blog this January for the whole series on my Core Wardrobe Staples every Woman Needs. Vault members have been shopping them and seeing how to wear them (and buying all the other fun pieces new for the season) in January’s Vault. You can join here!

We’re also cleaning out closets in January and giving women fab personal style makeovers. Check out our one-on-one wardrobe packages here.

Thanks for reading!

Best,

Tina

Photos by Krissy Leigh Creative

https://www.flickr.com/photos/krissyleighphotography/