How to Style a LBD: The Wardrobe Staple is Perfect for Spring and Kentucky Derby Dressing

Forget diamonds, a little black dress (LBD) is a girl's best friend. An enduring fashion and red carpet favorite, the LBD has reclaimed its title as our go-to wardrobe essential for the spring and season 2024 season. The perfect throw-on-and-go piece, it's low maintenance but big on impact. It's also feminine, flattering, and easy to dress up or down. Gabrielle "Coco" Chanel who first popularized the dress style in Vogue during the 1920s, ultimately cementing its status as a wardrobe must-have. The spring 2024 runways were awash with little black dresses, most notably at Alexander McQueen, Schiaparelli, and Area. Kylie Jenner also made a serious case for the iconic piece during Paris Fashion Week, with a deconstructed Alaïa robe dress from the brand's fall/winter 1992 collection.

Fashion Times market director Sarah Meikle is a fierce advocate for the LBD, stating that it's an essential piece that will never go out of style. "It's the perfect item to create an effortless, but pulled-together look and there's casual options like breezy cotton and linen sundresses, or satin and lace for nights out and more dressy occasions," she says. "An LBD also looks great with white accessories, which is a key trend for spring".

With spring dressing and summer affairs like the Kentucky Derby top of mind, we gathered a few fashion experts for classic styling tips and revisited some iconic LBD moments in fashion history.

How to Style a LBD

Our Favorite LBD Celebrity Style Moments

Kylie Jenner, 2024

During Paris Fashion Week, Jenner created her own idea of the LBD with an archival Alaïa look from 1992 that featured a robe and matching bra.

Rihanna, 2022

The style icon served a refreshed interpretation of the silhouette with a jacket-style croc black dress and a tie in the front. Rihanna famously reinvented the LBD (and maternity fashion) at the same event two years prior like only she can — a see-through dress with a matching lace bra-and-panties set for Dior's fall 2022 show.

Beyoncé, 2021

At the 2021 Grammys, the Cowboy Carter superstar wore a custom off-the-shoulder LBD by Schiaparelli, adorned with gloves and golden nails.

Jennifer Aniston, 2020

LBDs don't always have to be mini-length, just ask Jennifer Aniston.

Kim Kardashian, 2016

After asking Twitter followers for advice on her look, Kim Kardashian opted for a vintage black minidress by John Galliano at the 2016 MTV VMAs.

Princess Diana, 1994

One of the most noteworthy LBDs in history, Princess Diana marked her newly single era in a fitted, black, off-the-shoulder dress with an asymmetrical hemline and chiffon train designed by Christina Stambolian. A from Princess Diana's monumental revenge dress that she wore to a gala shortly after splitting with Prince Charles, to E

Elizabeth Hurley, 1994

Elizabeth Hurley's Versace dress fastened by gold safety pins at the red carpet premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral which famously became known as "That Dress."

Cindy Crawford, 1992

If you want to elevate the already iconic silhouette, just throw on a pair of fair-trimmed gloves like Cindy Crawford in this effortless ensemble.

Brigitte Bardot, 1969

While sheer dresses may be a current trend, Brigitte Bardot was decades ahead as she attended a "Night of the Cinema" event in a black maxi dress that bared her stomach. The captivating number also featured embellishments at the waist, chest, and sleeves.

Audrey Hepburn, 1961

An ensemble that many try to emulate to this day, Audrey Hepburn's black Givenchy dress in the legendary Breakfast at Tiffany's is nothing short of iconic.

Marilyn Monroe, 1950s

The housedress redefined: Marilyn Monroe wore a black cocktail dress with spaghetti straps and dangling earrings for a photo shoot on her staircase.