chiffon mini dress Self-portrait Add some dainty gold jewellery and a light cardigan to transition seamlessly into the evening.Features Amoris T709 Elegant Chiffon Mini

Lady Diana wore a low-cut gown, well off the shoulder, and there were audible admiring gasps, reported a positively giddy BBC journalist

It adapts to any occasion, says Vivienne Westwood creative director Andreas Kronthaler

From a simple shift dress which helped democratize womens fashion to a bold political statement, it has moved through various iterations which reflect changing ideals of beauty and body image. Many black dresses existed before Chanels 1926 design, and black was already a fashionable color, Ripley notes

Your visual system is always trying to separate out what color is coming from the lighting and what color is coming from the object, and you do that differently for blue and yellow, Webster said