Evening Dress V&A Explore The Collections Dresses Ready to wear Fashion CHANEL The classic little black dress, but with extra flair! Did you know: 100+ years ago, black was reserved for mourning. In 1926, Coco Chanel made black popular with a simple, calf length crepe CHANEL Cocktail Dress Chanel's cocktail dress in chiffon with pencil pleats, spaghetti straps and satin corselet to emphasize the waist, worn by Marie Hlne Arnaud, photo by Peter Fink, 1959 House of Chanel Evening dress French The Metropolitan Museum of Art