Summer’s LBD

 Hello my lovelies!

Let’s talk about summer’s LBD. 

Ha!  You thought I was going to chat about the little black dress eh?

Wrong!

For the purpose of this post, the L in the LBD acronym is long - long black dress.   

So this is my long black linen dress.

A wardrobe workhorse. 

I wore it here with a charity shop brass pendant. 

The dress has been a summer go-to for 17 years. 

So it was my go to when I met up with Insta friend Annemarie recently.  No pics of the meet up (shocker!) but I “posed” above before I left home. 

(worn with a silver leaf pendant)

And it was my go to when I met up with blogger friend Jacqui in 2020.

So it seems to be my designated Insta/blogger mate meet up dress!

I bought the dress in neighbouring island Sark in 2005.

It’s such a simple cut and fit, and that must be what makes a dress a go-to.  

The fabric is linen and despite fading a little, it’s still keeping itself together. 

So, my suggestions for a summer LBD that endures the decades are:

- Choose a simple line which transcends fashion trends.

- Go for a sturdy natural and breathable fabric like linen or a durable manmade fabric like modal. 

- Keep your colour choice neutral, so that trends don’t date the dress. 

- Buy a length that sails above the foibles of fashion, a midi or maxi will always be a classic style. 

Following those basic rules will ensure you have a dress in your wardrobe that you wear each and every year through the decades. 

 

So I’ve got myself a classic LBD. 

It’s only adornment is same coloured embroidery on the hem.  

So how do I give it more adornment?

Well, with nothing more than a light covering of jewellery it would seem. 

Earrings somehow seem wasted on long hair.  So I have no idea which earrings I chose on these occasions. 

If you’re shorter haired then luckily earrings can have a field day with you!

Here I wore a jumble sale find, a very heavy necklace made of nickel and copper belt hardware. 

It frames around the neckline beautifully. 

I’ve worn this on repeat since I found it in the 90s. 

Another pendant, this time in beige and dark brown.

I tend to keep the jewellery to neutral colours. 

So, 

- Keep the LBD simple. 

- Keep the adornment simple and neutral. 

Can I top 17 years?

Yes of course I can!

This one has an even longer provenance.  

This LBD is 20+ years old!

I think I bought it in the mid 90s.

Again it’s plain black. 

The cut is a long slip dress. 

The fabric is a jersey modal. 

All elements follow my rules for an LBD. 

I wore it above with nothing more than ecru coloured pearlised pendant.  And matching earrings.  Probably . 

Throwing over a diaphanous kaftan top can brighten the look (and hide the bingo wings!). 

Again, below is another 20 year old dress, well I may be stretching it, I think I bought this one in 2003/2004.

(with diamanté jewellery and a feather wrap - well this styling was for a glam themed hen party!)

So why am I wearing the dress 20 years on?

It’s black.

It’s linen.

It’s adornment is same-coloured appliqué/embroidery at neckline and hem.

It’s a slip dress style and cut on the bias. 

It’s midi length. 

See, following those rules again gets you a dress you’ll wear for 20 years!

As you can see, the dresses I’ve worn on repeat for 20 plus years all follow the same principles, the same rules. 

Over to you …

Do you already have a dress like this that you wear each and every summer, maxing out on its CPW?

So you have your own LBD rules?  Care to share? Thanks 

Are you going shopping for a LBD, in which case, have my rules been of help?

Thanks for popping in today. 

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A la perchoine.

Mary xxx