Little Black Dress

The Little Black Dress is a necessity in any woman's wardrobe. In the 1950's, Audrey Hepburn wore a little black dress in Breakfast at Tiffany's with grace and elegance. She was very thin, and the dress accentuated her narrow waist. Even today, she is seen as the epitome of what a woman should be, but the scale of what if feminine has shifted from elegance and sophistication to sex appeal. Femininity is seen in both of these pictures, but it is obvious that there are two types being portrayed. Audrey Hepburn was the what women wished they could be, with her little black dress, and her chic personality. In modern times though, the little black dress has moved from chic and elegant to, in some instances, cheap and merely a way of showing off your body. As seen in Victoria Beckham's picture, the little black dress has been made to primarily show off her breasts. This is where our culture has moved. Women are not seen for their personalities, rather their bodies. It is obvious that both women are slender, and whether this is because of exercise, diet, or even an eating disorder, it is what their culture demands of them. It is a safe bet to say that it is more probable that Audrey Hepburn had to achieve her body not from a lot of exercise but from an unhealthy obsession with her weight that led to an eating disorder. Although it is more well known today about the benefits of exercise, it is possible that Victoria Beckham uses the same form of "dieting" that Hepburn may have used.

So why did our culture move from being accepting of a woman's body to being shallow and judgemental? In Audrey Hepburn's picture, she is in a rather modest pose, looking a little spacey, but nothing out of the ordinary. In Victoria Beckham's photo she has her hands on her hips, looking very domineering with a "sexy" look on her face. This is what our culture expects nowadays because it is what women like Victoria Beckham are willing to give. This will prove to be a hard thing change about our culture because, according to the films we watched in class, all men want are skinny, blond women with large boobs, and there are women out there willing to be exactly that.