“Scheherazade is easy,” Chanel once said, rather sneeringly, of her pastel and poufy competition at the time. “A little black dress is difficult.”

It’s a truism that black is always in style. The LBD was beloved by designers from Cristóbal Balenciaga to Christian Dior, both of whom believed black could be worn at any time. At the most recent Paris season, Miu Miu closed out the show with a run of knee-length, saucy yet sophisticated black dresses – one worn with a fur coat, others with elbow-length gloves and Mary-Jane shoes.

Does it not say much about the universal appeal of an LBD that you can wear one as much as a gamine 20-something flitting about a party, as you can as a grande dame at a charity lunch?

The timeless, wear-anywhere appeal of an LBD is something that resonates with The Outnet style director Sinead Cutts.

“The LBD has been a wardrobe staple for many decades and will always be a chic yet effortless piece,” she says, adding: “The appeal of an LBD is the ease with which you can wear it. It’s a great investment piece for your wardrobe, as it’s a classic but versatile style that can be counted on for its simplicity. I have several in different styles to suit the occasion.”

Anna Hoang, founder and designer of Australian label Anna Quan calls black “a flattering non-colour”.

“Black, as an absence of colour, suits everyone – whether your skin tone is warm or cool based. I think this is why it has endured,” she says.

She says that part of the LBD’s appeal is that it can be “continually reinvented through clever silhouette and cutting technique, textural choices, lace insets or interesting trims, fabric manipulation and finishes – there’s plenty of room to innovate”.

Sarah Harris Gould and Lauren Tapper, co-founders of the elegantly feminine New Zealand brand Harris Tapper, say that evolving their take on the LBD makes sense to the brand’s design approach.

“For us, it’s a personal approach to what we feel we need in our own wardrobes, or are drawn to making,” says Harris Gould. “Often our lives echo the customer’s life – we want to make pieces that serve, rather than dictate what should be worn. This can mean updated silhouettes or new fabrications that give the wearer ease through the day.”

The Bea dress is the brand’s bestselling black dress. “A classic shape, skimming the body, it holds the body without hugging it. We’ve continued to recut this shape over and over again – it works for a professional life yet also weekend and evening wear,” says Tapper of the piece’s appeal.

As for why the LBD is particularly resonant right now, Harris Gould and Tapper believe the trend may have something to do with a renewed appreciation for consistency, or infallible chic.

“Perhaps the recent return to a classic, proven shape is about the security it brings after the instability of the past four years. Maybe we’re all craving certainty,” Harris Gould muses.

Julia McCarthy, founder of elevated minimalist Australian brand Friends with Frank, thinks another element of the LBD’s appeal is that it’s an easy decision.

“I think in a world where we’re overwhelmed with choice, there is something refreshing about going back to basics,” she says. “People see value in investing in a piece that they will get maximum mileage out of, a piece that can take them across a multitude of occasions – so timeless that it can take pride of place in your wardrobe for many years.

“A well-cut, well-made black dress not only will never go out of style, but in a time when our attention span and wardrobe turnover seems higher than ever, it’s a style that’s harder to grow tired of,” she adds.

As for how to wear one? Really, as McCarthy notes, however and wherever you like.

“With the right styling, pieces in a modern wardrobe should work just as well worn casually as they do to a formal event,” she says.

“This is key to the place a modern LBD now has in your wardrobe. It’s no longer the piece you have saved for a special occasion, but is versatile enough to be brought into your weekly outfitting rotation,” she elaborates.

“A modern LBD is all about the confidence that a beautifully cut dress, made from a high-quality fabric in a fail-safe black shade, will give you.”