The little black dress holds a significant place in fashion, being deemed an essential in women’s wardrobes for over 200 years. While adored for its timeless elegance, a deeper analysis of the garment reveals it to be a symbol of female progression, particularly in the mid-twentieth century. The little black dress rejects and challenges dominant ideologies surrounding women; it offers a bold contrast to the purity and naivety of the domestically-confined wife role that women are expected to fulfill. Gaining popularity during the mid-twentieth century, the little black dress aligned itself with the feminist behaviours that began to emerge after World War 1. Women were beginning to recognize and advocate their intrinsic right to freedom, a means of dissent from the status quo.
 

This shift in behaviours was reflected in cinema of the time, with female characters that refuse the role of the housewife. These characters displayed their refusal of dominant ideologies not only through their attitudes, actions, but their black dresses. The heroines of ​Ex-Lady ​(1933), Gilda ​(1946) and ​Breakfast at Tiffany’s (​ 1961) are all seen on their film’s movie posters in little black dresses. However, what unites the three women is not their striking fashion choices, but the greater ideological context that attaches itself to such decisions. The little black dresses in these films act as a vehicle for the women to assert their rights and object the domesticity, unjust treatment and sexual repression that come at the cost of conforming to dominant ideologies.