Know Before You Go: LBD Cocktail Party & Runway Show
With the 10th Anniversary LBD Cocktail Party & Runway Show quickly approaching, it is time to go into your closet and dust off that little black number! You know, your LBD – the show-stopping go-to-garb that makes you look and feel fabulous that is perfect for this event. The New York-style runway show has raised over $1 million in 10 years and features a 70 foot runway amidst a fabulous cocktail party for the ultimate #FashionAtTheFort experience. Here is everything you need to know before you go:
What: 10th Anniversary Little Black Dress Cocktail Party & Runway Show
When: March 28th from 6:30-9:30pm
Where: Fort Whiting Armory
Benefiting: Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mobile, AL
Purchase tickets here.
The Southern Atelier Highlights:
We always have a great time at the LBD event and are so excited to celebrate their 10th anniversary! And what better way to commemorate 10 years of fabulous fashion than with our very own fashion correspondent Niki Coker walking the runway!?!
The Southern Atelier will have all the behind-the-scenes action for you live from backstage! Niki will play the role of both model and fashion correspondent as she reveals all the #bts details, covering everything from model fittings to hair and makeup (speaking of…our fave hair maven Kristen Johnston will be styling each models hair to perfection!). Be sure to follow our Instastories on the days leading up to the event for inside information on all things fun and fashion from LBD.
About the Event
The tenth annual Little Black Dress cocktail party and runway show will be held Thursday, March 28, 2019, at Fort Whiting in Mobile, with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. Little Black Dress, presented by Gulf States Engineering and McDonald’s, is the premier fundraising event for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Mobile, which provides a supportive home environment offering care, compassion and hope to families with seriously ill and injured children being treated at Mobile area hospitals.
Fifty local area “McModels” – including our very own Niki Coker – will be featured in this fast-paced runway show in fashions styled by Dillard’s. Paired with the runway show, the cocktail party will feature Mobile’s top area chefs and restaurants with exceptional food and refreshing beverage offerings. General admission tickets are available for $100 per person with balcony seating available. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older.
What to Wear
The dress code for the event is cocktail attire, so dress to impress and pull out your best LBD! The little black dress is a classic; a ‘must-have’ as a wardrobe staple that never goes out of style and is always en vogue. From sexy to sophisticated and everything in between, the LBD is a universally flattering dress that every woman can wear.
What most LBD-wearing fashionistas do not know, however, is that the little black dress – a fashion icon in its own right – owes some of its worldwide reputation and success to the French couturier Coco Chanel. Read on for more information about the ‘invention’ of the LBD you will be wearing to the event!
Noir: A Fashion Revolution
Since the Victorian Era, black garb has traditionally been an archetype of mourning or mystery as well as being a sign of piety. But for Chanel, ever disregarding convention, black was the definition of simple elegance. The course of fashion history was changed in 1926 – the LBD was ‘born’ when Coco Chanel used the sober shade once reserved for funerals and state occasions to revolutionize la culture de la mode by bringing the color noir into everyday wear.
Chanel created a garment that was meant to be “elegant but wearable, neutral in color, long-lasting and versatile…” making it available to the widest possible market (BBC). According to André Leon Talley, the term ‘little black dress’ first appeared in 1926, in an American Vogue illustration of Coco Chanel’s first black ‘Ford.’
Vogue magazine gave the LBD the moniker of ‘the Ford’ in reference to Henry Ford’s reputed slogan for his democratic Model T car: ‘Available in Any Color…So Long as it is Black.’
Although instantly loved by many, the LBD attracted critics from other fashion houses after its inception. Among the displeased, rival master couturier Paul Poiret is said to have sniped at Chanel in the street: “What are you in mourning for, Mademoiselle?” as she passed by wearing her LBD. The equally scissor-tongued designer is said to have retorted: “For you, dear Monsieur.”
Despite the critics, Chanel’s ‘Ford’ was swiftly embraced as a staple of French elegance in the 20’s. Almost a century later, the shape-shifting LBD is still as popular as ever, with a family of icons still fueling its legacy.
Although a far cry from the likes of Coco herself, I chose to don the iconic garb when given the opportunity to model in a photoshoot for Arden Photography – after all, Chanel herself said the little black dress was intended to be worn by “every woman.” The LBD I am wearing was designed by US label Elizabeth and James.
The LBD has been reinvented numerous times throughout the years but the dress remains an ever popular fashion favorite. So, as you slip on that head-turning little black number for the upcoming soiree benefiting the Ronald McDonald House of Mobile, remember to hold your head high (chin up!), roll your shoulders back and add a little extra saunter to your step as you channel your inner Chanel and honor the LBD’s historical legacy. After all, Coco would most certainly approve of – if not be honored by – the little black dress that you have chosen to wear.
We would love to see your LBD style – please tag us in all of your photos from the event so that we can repost our favorite looks! I will be in Phoenix attending a Beautycounter Event the weekend of LBD, so while you rock your LBD, please remember to send photos and videos of our fashion correspondent Niki strutting her stuff on the runway so that I can watch from afar – and be sure to tag @thesouthernatelier on Instagram!
xx,
Sarah
p.s.
Check out our Instastories on the days leading up to the event as Niki will be posting behind-the-scenes footage on everything from fittings to hair and makeup and all the back-stage action. Also, we are excited to announce that our go-to glam gal, Kristen Johnston, will be behind the chair making sure that every hair is perfectly in place for each model, so follow her Insta for tips and tricks on looking runway-ready every day!
