When a woman dresses up, she wants to look elegant. Elegance usually implies expense-an expensive couture gown, and expensive jewels. However, elegance can also be achieved at a smaller cost. To start with, instead of diamonds, rhinestone jewelry is perfectly acceptable. An even smaller budget is needed if the elegance comes through the purchase of wholesale rhinestone jewelry.

At the end of the Nineteenth Century and the beginning of the Twentieth, dressing up was a big production. Dresses were long and complex, with, through the years, hoops, bustles, lace and embroidery, mutton leg sleeves, and other bulky decorations. In the 1920s, 1926 to be exact, a change occurred. Coco Chanel invented the timeless dress-up dress: the little black dress. Starting around this time, women began to rebel against the confining clothing that they had worn throughout history. Women began wearing simpler and shorter dresses. At this time, Coco Chanel designed a soft jersey dress that was sleeveless, had a wide neck, and ended just above the knee. Up to this time, women had never exposed this much of the arms, shoulders, neck, and legs. Another shock was the dress’s color. Until this time, black was used only for mourning and funerals. In 1926 the “little black dress” came into being. And, while it has gone through many redesigns over the last 80 years, the original design is still as fresh today as it was then.

The beauty of the little black dress is its versatility. We started out discussing dressing up with elegance. There is nothing more elegant than a simply accessorized little black dress. For the prosperous woman, a few well-placed diamonds turn it into a head-turning ensemble. For the rest of us, rhinestones serve the same purpose. At the high end are Austrian crystals. These stones, while much less expensive than diamonds, are not inexpensive. They have an extraordinary quality of catching and returning the light. The next level of rhinestones are made of glass with metal powder painted onto the back so that they can reflect light. The dime-store variety of rhinestones are made of acrylic. You most likely don’t want to wear acrylic diamonds with your little black dress, because, after all, acrylic is merely plastic. When you dress up your little black dress with rhinestone jewelry, the old adage that “less is more” is applicable. A couple of small pieces will dress up the outfit. More than this will make it look like a child’s dress-up outfit.

However, the true beauty of the little black dress is not that it can be dressed up for an elegant evening but that it can also be dressed down for casual occasions. For a more casual cocktail party, leave off the diamonds or rhinestones and wear pearls. If jewelry doesn’t fit the occasion, a fabulous scarf or colorful belt will dress up the dress in an even more casual way. An additional way to accessorize the little black dress is to throw on a jacket. This jacket can be black for a monochromatic look or a bright or light color.

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