Wearing the dress you saw on the catwalk or red carpet for a special night out is but a dream for many of us, especially in these frugal times. Girl Meets Dress lets you to hire one of their frocks for two nights, which is perfect for a party, or a week if you really want to pretend it's your own. With names like Proenza Schouler, Marc Jacobs and DVF their designer list reads like a who's who of the catwalkerati.
We love the delicately ruffled blue Philip Lim dress, the sturdy tan belt providing a perfect counterpoint to the feminine frothiness. Also by Philip Lim, a frock you can wear in multiude of ways. The high-impact gold brocade lends itself to clashing colours and textures, or a pair of opaques an killer heels for a classy look.
When Kate Moss stepped out in that silver sequinned Balmain dress last month it had everyone talking. Well for those who can't quite afford Balmain (so, just about most of us) Goddiva has come up with a much more affordable alternative. This silver and black sparkly minidress is also on sale, reduced from £26 to just £16. Throw on some black tights and shiny black bag and you're as good as Miss Moss.
Zara Phillips is really growing into a style icon all of her own. This was no more evident than at a charity poker tournament in Monte Carlo this week. With a glass of champagne in one hand, the royal starlet watched the game like a fixture out of a James Bond film. Dressed in the ever-so regal colour of purple, Zara wore the gorgeous 'Mini Dana' silk purple dress from Temperley London's spring/summer '09 collection. This one-shouldered ruffle affair was shown on the runway with a belt, but clearly can be worn either way. Now, you can dress like a royal too - this dress is for sale at Net-a-porter.com for £650.
P.S. Check out Zara's new ad campaign for Musto by clicking here.
Ever since she hit the red carpet on Sunday at the BAFTA Television Awards, Tess Daly left many talking about her gorgeous baby-bump style. The Strictly Come Dancing host, who is seven months pregnant, glowed as she showed off her legs in a midnight blue ruffle-front minidress from 3.1 Philip Lim. I have dug up that dress, that has also been spotted on the likes of Jennifer Morrison and model, Liya Kebede. Pregnant or not, you can own it yourself for £484.47 from Net-a-porter.com.
Are we sensing a trend? The hearts at CQ Towers were all a-flutter when we spotted River Island's brocade and fuchsia satin dress and it was the same lovestory all over again with this frock from Kew. It retails at £75 and would look as good at a wedding as it would down the pub.
There's something satisfyingly almost mumsy about the floral prints which make it feel a little subversive. Dresses might not be as big news as they were a few seasons ago but add a little punky twist on the girly florals and frocks feel fresh again. For maximum high fashion chic slip on a single strand studded belt to contrast with the pretty prints.
Last week we spoke to a handful of London College of Fashion MA Fashion Curation students on the opening of their exhibition Occupying Spaces: The White Dress Project just off Carnaby Street. The students picked a historically significant pattern, and made it up in white the dresses were then displayed in a variety of ways, including pinned across the entrance, primed for dirty London feet!
We also spoke to LCF lecturer Amy de la Haye who co-directed the project with colleague Judith Clark, click to watch our interviews and get a glimspe of the exhibition.
Occupying Spaces: The White Dress Project runs until April 23 at 65-67 Broadwick Street. For further information, visit www.carnaby.co.uk.
Bridalwave's Abi writes: We're getting used to seeing brides in colours other than white, and there's a mini trend for two-tone dresses going on right now. But when it comes to dress fabric, it's very unusual to see a wedding dress with any sort of print.
This my be about to change, as designers like Carolina Herrera are starting to introduce floral prints into their bridalwear ranges. This ivory and black fils coupé gown is from the designer's Spring '10 range which debuted in New York last week. Set off by a Tiffany & Co. diamond and platinum butterfly brooch, the dress was pure bridal chic losing nothing to the contemporary twist. It'll certainly be interesting to see if this trend goes mainstream.
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