This Summer, Every Garden Party Should Have A LBD

I was flipping through photos of the annual Serpentine Gallery Summer Party in London, which always draws an interesting cluster of fashion/art/acting/music types, and the girls that caught my eye were all wearing....black dresses. Seems crazy, right? (It's hot and sunny outside!) Maybe not. Now, wearing head-to-toe black in the middle of July and still looking festive requires a few tricks, which Julia Restoin Roitfeld and Poppy Delevigne mastered perfectly...

1. The black dress really should be little, so you can show somesun-kissed skin--a hemline above the knee if you have great legs; iftoned arms are you thing, go sleeveless and bare through theshoulders/neck.

2. Make sure the dress has some subtle sparkle--black-on-black beadingor sequins look so gorgeous in direct sunlight and sunset.

3. Pair the dress with strappy black heels or wedges rather than aclosed-toe ballet flat or a pump for the right dose of sexiness. I lovePoppy's ruffle-front ones.

What are your thoughts on head-to-toe black during the warm months: chic or shriek?

Click here for more tricks on how to style a little black dress.

-Jen Ford, Fashion News Director