Celebrity Dress Auction

The Little Black Dress is probably the most famous item to hang in the closet. It even warrants capital letters, the punctuation of choice for proper names.

The dress, whether it's a simple sheath or a sexy sundress - after all, it's the color that's important - is vital to celebrities' wardrobes. And now you can have one, too. We're not talking about just any old black dress, we're talking about one that already was deemed red-carpet worthy by Sharon Stone or Elizabeth Taylor.

Hollywood stars have donated dresses to an Internet auction to raise money for the Avon Breast Cancer Crusade. The timing of the auction on eBay from Oct. 1 through 10 also coincides with the launch of Avon's new fragrance, Little Black Dress.

''The great thing about them (little black dresses) is they, of course, go from boardroom to ballroom. Betty Boop wore them and so did Coco Chanel, and they were never out of place,'' says Phillip Bloch, the celebrity stylist working with Avon to collect the dresses.

Bloch's mother died of breast cancer in 1996.

The ''biggest coup'' of the auction is Taylor's dress, says Bloch, ''because I've admired her style for so long.'' Some of his other favorites came from Brooke Shields, Kim Cattrall and Debra Messing.

Shields' sleeveless, fleece wool shift by Peruffo is a silhouette that would look good on anyone because it's classy and elegant, while Messing's matte jersey, V-neck shirtdress by Tahari would be flattering to women of different sizes, Bloch says. Cattrall's sexy Yves Saint Laurent with lace inserts isn't as flexible as the others but it was her ''lucky dress,'' he says, which makes it extra special for the auction.

But the beauty of any Little Black Dress is that whoever is wearing it controls the look, he says. The same dress can be funky or elegant depending on the accessories - and the attitude, of course.

''The black magic of the 'LBD' is that it instantly transforms you into looking chic.''

The pinnacle of popularity for the black cocktail dress probably was the 1960s, thanks to Audrey Hepburn and Jacqueline Kennedy, who both looked stylish in their boatneck versions, but the garment is enjoying a rebirth and a renaissance, according to Bloch.

Just ask anyone who watch this year's Oscars: What dress was the most memorable• The answer likely will be Julia Roberts' - in black.

Roberts' black vintage Valentino gown tops Bloch's list of the five best black-dress moments in history. The others: