Golden Globes 2018: The Return of the Little Black Dress

Ever since the mid-1920s, the little black dress (LBD) has been glorified for its versatility. Date night? Pull out that LBD. Going to the opera? Wear your LBD. Funeral? LBD.

Securing a reputation today as the ultimate, essential piece in a woman’s closet, it continues to be the go-to dress for almost any event. And though it has been almost a century since its birth, the little black dress resurfaced at the Golden Globes this year, campaigning its timelessness and Time’s Up.

Powered by women, Time’s Up is a legal defense fund that helps less privileged women gain access to action and protection against their sexual harasser(s).

“Time’s Up is a unified call for change from women in entertainment for women everywhere,” the Time’s Up website said. “From movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, we envision nationwide leadership that reflects the world in which we live.”

In response to the recent rise of sexual misconduct reports, especially in the entertainment industry, women and men are coming together to change the hush-hush nature that often surrounds sexual harassment.

In other words, the clock has run out on silence.

Founded by women in the entertainment industry, celebrity members of the Time’s Up initiative raised awareness for the cause by wearing black on the Golden Globes Awards red carpet on January 7. As each ensemble paraded through the cameras and interviewers, another trend was spotted on the arms of the attendees as well: activists.

In addition to wearing black and speaking out against sexual assault, some Globes nominees brought women’s activists as their plus-ones. Meryl Streep and Emma Stone, for instance, were seen walking with National Domestic Workers Alliance Director Ai-jen Poo and Women’s Tennis Association Founder Billie Jean King, respectively. Even the founder of the #MeToo movement, Tarana Burke, was walking the red carpet with another best actress nominee, Michelle Williams.

“You know why we're here? We're here because of Tarana,” Williams said. “We're here because Tarana started a movement and she planted a seed years ago and it's grown and caught fire.”

A dark cloud may have hung over the carpet, but the attitude of the carpet was able to remain optimistic. While the black dresses certainly illustrate a dark hour in American history, the solidarity found among the Globes attendees suggested the rise of a bright new day for women—and men—in the United States.

While awards season is often the time to stand out on the red carpet, over 300 women and men decided it was time, instead, to stand up.

Golden Globes? Work that LBD.