A book like a best girlfriend

What is important in the life of a woman? ‘The Little Black Dress’ is a universal handbook of the female art of living. It takes up the tradition of guide books for refined young women into the twenty-first century: What must woman know today and what is really important? ‘The Little Black Dress’ is a practical how-to manual that knows how nerve-racking the gender discussion is for women. It banks on action without forgetting what it all really means. How do you send a man packing – and how does one really run the run the show as a single mother? What do you need to know about bikinis – and how do you crochet one? How do you write a Blog? How does one learn to be the boss, even if it is only for the cleaning lady? ‘The Little Black Dress’ combines all the qualities also attributed to that legendary dress: It is suited for every occasion, it is as timeless as it is ingenious, helpful; simple and yet well-considered. It fits any woman. A book for just in case.

Cordula Bachmann Wrote her doctoral thesis on the everyday clothing practices of men and women. She lives as an author in Berlin.

Birgitta Kauffmann lives as a resident gynaecologist in the Allgäu region of Southern Germany.

Christiane Tewinkel freelances for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and is a research assistant at the University of the Arts, Berlin. Her most recent books 《Bin ich normal, wenn ich mich im Konzert langweile?》 (2004) and 《Eine kurze Geschichte der Musik》 (2007)