My recent purchase of a little black dress from Wall set me thinking about the place of the LBD in a girl's wardrobe. 

The basic idea of an LBD is that it's multipurpose. You should be able to wear it to work, then out to dinner; or to meet your partner's parents; or to a funeral; or to a cocktail party. It should go from day to night and from reasonably casual to reasonably formal with just a change of accessories. In this, it differs from a spectacular black dress such as the Versace number that Angelina Jolie (and her leg) wore to the Oscars recently.  

I now have four LBDs - five if you count summer weight.

Perhaps the most versatile of them is this cool wool, lined shift from M&S. It took me a little while to track this down, because I had very specific requirements:  a scoop neck - high enough to give coverage but low enough not to look frumpy or make my boobs look enormous; lined but lightweight; knee length; matt fabric and either princess line (the one I found) or with a waist seam. Last week I wore it with fleece-lined tights, suedette stiletto-heeled boots and a cashmere poloneck underneath, but it's just as useful over a white shirt or under a cardigan or leather blouson, or teamed with loafers or kitten heels for summer. If you can only buy one LBD, this is the type to have. Make sure it's lined, so that it slips nicely over underlayers. 

Another of my faves is very much a winter dress. A long sleeveless column in stretch velvet, it has a v-neck with a twist and a split at the back, and is very bog-standard, from Dorothy Perkins, but the simplicity of the cut makes it look very expensive. It's very glam on its own or with a sparkly shrug or stole, but I often dress it right down with a poloneck sweater so that it looks like a skirt (but is much more comfortable to wear out to dinner, as it has no constriction on the waist). 

A good dress for mid-season or for cool evenings is, again, one that I'd wanted for a long time - a knee-length wrap viscose dress from Boden. The trick with wrap dresses - those with 5 per cent or more elasthane - is to get them a size bigger than usual. I like the Boden version of the modern wrap dress because it has very long ties and little details at the collar and cuff that add a touch of femininity. This dress looks great over a vest of the same or contrasting colour - I'm past the age of revealing the cleavage it's designed for (a fault with many current wrap dresses, which create way too much exposure at the front). And the fabric is completely matt, which is forgiving to lumps and bumps. 

My latest LBD is the pima cotton jersey one from Wall (see earlier post), but a much older garment is a linen sundress from Hobbs, which I must have owned for 15 years or more. This is a simple tank, but in two layers, so the straightforward heavy linen tank underlayer is topped with a double layer of very thin chiffon-like linen that crosses over a little in front. Kind of hard to describe, but it's a lovely dress that just floats around the body in a hot summer. I tend to team it with a transparent black kimono in a silk called 'sha', which is something like an elastic organza.  

Much as I like my dresses in other colours - in blues and pinks and green and yellows - they are not as versatile as black dresses, especially if you live a city life, and even here in the countryside they get a massive amount of wear. One or two good LBDs in your wardrobe and you'll always have something to wear.  

Wall is one of those companies I've admired from afar from a long time, but never actually experienced in real life.

I first heard about them about eight years ago on a Women's Hour devoted to fashion and why it's so bloody rubbish for adult women. Wall was mentioned as a shining light in the darkness of tat, with elegant, comfortable designs aimed at women with real shapes.

Wall, which has a website named Wall London, presumably because someone else owns www.wall.com, was set up in 1997 as a boutique in Notting Hill, London. Its designs are sometimes characterised as 'casual luxury' but they themselves say: "Our collections are designed with a certain type of woman in mind; one who is artistic, independent, mature yet energetic and who enjoys both an intellectual and a social life." 

Designs are subdued and subtle, as is the colour palette - mainly dark shades of black, charcoal, bitter chocolate and grey, but with some zinging blues and pinks too, and strange, 'off' shades of burgundy, aubergine and greige. The clothes are meant to stay in your wardrobe for a long time, not to be disposable, and in that way stand outside of fashion.  

The firm also has strong ethical credentials, supporting charities, requiring a strong code of conduct from suppliers and supporting small businesses, especially in Peru, where one of the founders hails from.   

I have always wanted a garment from Wall, which I value because they are intellectually pleasing as well as beautiful, but been too broke to justify one. This year, however, instead of browsing longingly through their online pages, I've actually made a purchase, of this little black dress (50 quid in the sale, reduced from 99). I decided on a pima cotton garment, as this requires no dry cleaning or special care, just a cool wash in the machine. 

As you will notice, the dress in the top picture is not black, though the one I've bought actually is - they just didn't show it in black in a full-length photo. And although I like it in both the red and soft turquoise colourways in which it also comes, I feel generally that a girl gets more use out of a black dress over time. If it looks good on me, I may well order it in another colour.  

Note how kindly constructed this garment is: long sleeves, v-neck, knee-length, and that very tasty little curved gather at the front to skim softly over your tum when you have a fat day. I am seriously hoping that this garment will remain as a staple in my wardrobe for the next 20 or 30 years, as suitable for dinner as for a day around town, for sitting in the garden, or lunch with friends, topped with a little cardi, or a pashmina, or a leather jacket according to need. 

My first garment from Wall but - I seriously hope - not my last.  

If you're going to buy a little black dress, with a bit of forward planning, you can fashion-proof it almost indefinitely. 

The most versatile LBD is a shift, and it should have so few details or distinguishing marks that it should almost be boring. 

Firstly, make sure it's sleeveless, even if you never bare your arms. A sleeveless design will remain constant as fashions in shoulder lines come and go.

Secondly, look for a design that is semi-fitted, not tight - go a size up if you have to. It should skim over your body, not fit tightly.

It should have a boat or scoop neck for maximum usability (make sure it shows your collarbones but has straps that are wide enough to hide all your bra straps), and it should be knee length. By knee length, I mean that sweet spot on your leg that suddenly makes them look longer. This varies from woman to woman (mine's just below the knee, not bang on the crease).

Where fabric's concerned, choose a matt, fine wool, if possible, or a matt polyester crepe if not - something unreflective - and make sure it has a lining, so you can wear it over other clothes easily. I prefer a princess seam, but a waist seam can be equally flattering - just make sure it's a little loose in case you gain or lose a pound or two.

You can wear your LBD it as it comes, or with a white shirt under it, or a tee or short- or long-sleeved crewneck sweater, or a silk blouse.

Over it, you can wear any number of shrugs or evening cardigans, a crew, polo or v-neck sweater (so you only see the dress as a skirt), a wrap or a silk shirt tied at the waist.

It will do you for day-to-night with a change of top layer, you can team it with opaque tights and knee-high boots in winter, sheers and stilettos for a sexy look, or leggings and ballet flats when you need to move at speed. Even on its own, a flashy, glittering evening bag will bling it right up.

There is nothing more versatile than this shape of dress, and provided it's knee-length and sleeveless, it won't date - rather than replace it, get yourself another one in silk, velvet or linen, or the same style in another colour.

You don't need to break the bank to buy a decent shift dress - they start at about £30 - but do pay for quality fabric, a lining, and to get it tailored to fit if necessary.

* What dates a shift dress? Skirts that are too long or too short - knee length is always right. Having a skirt that's a mini or mid-calf and below limits the number of times and places you can wear it.

Sleeves, and the shoulder line that supports them also date clothing. The fuller the sleeve, the bigger the shoulder that's need to support it. So avoid sleeves.