This year, the colour red has had a revival of sorts. Even Hollywood has given its stamp of approval after several celebs adopted it to ‘up’ the red-carpet ante at the 80th Annual Academy Awards in February this year. Who can
forget the lovely, floor-sweeping, red Marchesa gown on Anne Hathaway? Or Nicole Kidman’s striking Balenciaga gown at the Oscars in February 2007; it inspired many wedding gown couturiers to come up with similar designs.

The red dress may have seen better light in recent years, but this was never the case in the 18th century. Controversial as they are, red dresses were taboo then. Victorian women avoided the colour because of its association with ‘scarlet women’, otherwise known as prostitutes. On the other hand, Oriental culture was more magnanimous. Red was regarded as a colour that signifies good luck.

It is not known exactly when the Little Red Dress first appeared but historians would attribute it to an 1830 painting by Ammi Phillips. Titled Portrait of a Little Girl in a Red Dress with Cat and Dog, it features a rambunctious child whose family is too busy with everyday tasks to attend to her. One day, a travelling portrait artist, Ammi Phillips, arrives and convinces the girl and her pets to sit for the portrait.