Looking suave, sophisticated and sexy, ladies visited the Ritz-Carlton’s Silver Palm Lounge for the Little Black Dress party.

The little black dress has been a must-have item for every woman’s wardrobe, ever since French fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel made the dress a timeless emblem of style and elegance in the 1920s.

The party’s highlight came just before midnight, when a competition decided just who was wearing the best black dress.

That little black dress – always the perfect accessory

It was the ideal opportunity to get out that little black dress – the timeless icon of sophistication and classic elegance – out of the wardrobe for the Little Black Dress Party at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

The hotel’s Silver Palm Lounge was draped in black, with the contrasting bright lights setting the room aglow. DJ Billy Courduroy provided the sounds as the night moved towards its highlight – the Little Black Dress Competition, when male party guests were invited to become judges.

Martin Hoetzl, the Silver Palm’s Food and Beverage Manager said: “The Little Black Dress Party set the stage for a sophisticated evening of fashion and fun.  The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman is delighted to offer Cayman something out of the ordinary for the Friday night social scene and we look forward to hosting another similar event come 2012.”

The simple black dress can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. For example, it can be worn with a jacket and high heels for daytime business wear, or with ornate jewellery and other accessories for evenings.

Before the 1920s, dressing in black was reserved for periods of mourning alone, and it was considered bad taste for a woman to wear black outside such circumstances

But it wasn’t until 1926, when Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel published a picture of a short, simply styled black dress in the American edition of Voguemagazine.

Vogue called it “Chanel’s Ford,” and like the popular Model T, the little black dress suddenly became accessible for women of all social classes.

The little black dress continued to be popular through the second world war, when textile rationing, coupled with the little black dress’s ability to be used for virtually any occasion, made it the ideal style “uniform” for many women who were entering the workforce for the first time.

In the post-war era, the sexual conservatism of the 1950’s, returned the little black dress to being the symbol of the “dangerous woman,” especially through the lens of Hollywood cameras where fallen women were often seen in black halter-style dresses, in contrast to the more conservative dresses of more wholesome Hollywood stars.

During the 1960s many women aspired to simple black sheath dresses, like the one worn by Audrey Hepburn in the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

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