The little black dress (LBD) is a black evening or cocktail dress, cut simply and often quite short. Fashion historians ascribe the origins of the little black dress to the 1920s designs of Coco Chanel. It is intended to be long-lasting, versatile, affordable, and widely accessible. Its ubiquity is such that it is often simply referred to as the "LBD".

The little black dress is considered essential to a complete wardrobe, which can be worn alone or accessorized for various occasions.

In 1926 Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel published a picture of a short, simple black dress in American Vogue. It was calf-length, straight and decorated only by a few diagonal lines. Vogue called it "Chanel's Ford". Like the Model T, the little black dress was simple and accessible for women of all social classes. Vogue also said that the LBD would become "a sort of uniform for all women of taste". This, as well as other designs by the house of Chanel helped disassociate black from mourning, and reinvent it as the uniform of the high-class, wealthy, and chic. As Coco herself proclaimed, "I imposed black; it's still going strong today, for black wipes out everything else around."

The little black dress continued to be popular through the Great Depression, predominantly through its economy and elegance, albeit with the line lengthened somewhat. Hollywood's influence on fashion helped the little black dress's popularity, but for more practical reasons: as Technicolor films became more common, filmmakers relied on little black dresses because other colors looked distorted on screen and botched the coloring process.

During World War II, the style continued in part due to widespread rationing of textiles, and in part as a common uniform (accessorized for businesswear) for civilian women entering the workforce.

The rise of Christian Dior's "New Look" in the post-war era and the sexual conservatism of the 1950s returned the little black dress to its roots as a uniform and a symbol of the dangerous woman. Hollywood femmes fatales and fallen women characters were portrayed often in black halter-style dresses in contrast to the more conservative dresses of housewives or more wholesome Hollywood stars. Synthetic fibres made popular in the 1940s and 1950s broadened the availability and affordability of many designs.

The generation gap of the 1960s created a dichotomy in the design of the little black dress. The younger "mod" generation preferred, in general, a miniskirt on their versions of the dress and designers catering to the youth culture continued to push the envelope - shortening the skirt even more, creating cutouts or slits in the skirt or bodice of the dress, using sheer fabrics such as netting or tulle.

​The black Givenchy dress of Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly in the film  Breakfast at Tiffany’s, designed by Hubert de Givenchy, epitomized the standard for wearing little black dresses accessorized with pearls (together called "basic black"), as was frequently seen throughout the early 1960s.

The dress set a record in 2006 when it was auctioned for £410,000, six times its original estimate.

Other than Audrey Hepburn's Breakfast at Tiffany’s Givenchy black dress, another most famous little black dress is Princess Diana's black "revenge dress".

In June 1994, Princess Diana wore an off-the-shoulder black Christina Stambolian silk dress while at Serpentine Gallery's summer party hosted by Vanity Fair, the night Charles, Prince of Wales admitted he had an adulterous relationship with Camilla Parker Bowles. The "little black dress" will be named "The revenge dress" by the media.

To Catch a Thief is a 1955 American romantic thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, from a screenplay by John Michael Hayes based on the 1952 novel of the same name by David Dodge. The film stars Cary Grant as a retired cat burglar who has to save his reformed reputation by catching an impostor preying on the wealthy tourists of the French Riviera. Grace Kelly stars opposite him as his romantic interest in her final film with Hitchcock.

Even when she was still the first lady of the United States, Jackie Kennedy had already strong connection with Capri, Italy.  In the mid summer of 1962, in the media heat caused by the mysterious death of Marilyn Monroe on 4 August 1962 and a very open assumption of the actress's liaison with the president, Jackie with her daughter Caroline, accompanied by her sister Lee Radziwill went to Italy. There in Ravello, a small village on the Amalfi Coast, as well as Capri, Jackie was seen with Italian industrialist, future president of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli almost always and his wife Marella Agnelli only occassionaly. So much so that Jackie's husband Jack Kennedy had to send her a telegram: "More Caroline, less Gianni". 

Nobody will ever know if Jackie Kennedy and Gianni Agnelli were romantically linked, but everyone can see she was initiated in la dolce vita de Italy, in a pair of white capri pants, with a pair of Capri sandals custom made for her by the artisan sandal maker Canfora, who also made sandals for Grace Kelly and Princess Margaret. 

After becoming Mrs. Onassis, the wife of the richest man of the world Aristotle  Onassis, Jackie lived in Greece, but Italy, in particular Capri, was her escape, she regularly went there, alone or with her new husband or her two children, or in the company of the jet set like the new Italian designer Valentino Garavani, wearing her white capri pants and custom made Capri sandals in various colors, until the 70s, then everything changed again. Aristotle Onassis died, Jackie Kennedy Onassis went back to New York, her spiritual and final home, living as an intellectual among books.

Capri, as well as Gianni Agnelli, remained but a nostalgia for Jackie, but the way how she wore her capri pants, nonchalantly and elegantly, will remain in our memory.