About Project

The Little Black Dress

has evolved over the course of the last 100 years into a staple for any woman’s wardrobe, a sort of uniform that can be seen at any function or event, from a formal dinner to a night out on the town.  Its ubiquity demonstrates the dress’ appeal cuts across all social standings and wealth; confirmation that regardless of your age, height of any other unique physical characteristic, that there is a “little black dress” that will make the wearer feel like the most beautiful woman in the room.

As a photographer, I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about what makes a woman feel beautiful and capturing that in photographs.  I often work with people who are not professional models, so creating a comfort level where they feel confident that they look attractive in front of the camera is critical to a successful image, and often the best way to do that is through the clothing they wear.

But I want this project to serve as something more than an overgrown fashion shoot.  The best way to describe what I hope to achieve is from a quote from Isabel Wolff’s novel A Vintage Affair:

…I find myself wondering about their lives.  I can never look at a garment… without thinking about the woman who owned it.  How old was she?  Did she work?  Was she married?  Was she happy?… I look at these exquisite shoes, and I imagine the woman who owned them rising out of them to kiss someone…

It is the old quote: ” A picture is worth a thousand words.”  But I think the beauty of the “Little Black Dress” is that there are so many different words; and different ways to “say” them.  The same dress can look completely different with something as simple as a change of accessories, or just a different woman wearing the dress.  It is my belief that this is the secret to the universal appeal to the LBD, while the dress at its essence is uniform, it is the woman and story she presents when she wears that dress that makes it as special and unique as a snowflake.