Have an office party or Christmas soiree or New Year’s Even bash to attend this year? Don’t have a clue what to wear? I have an idea…
There’s an article in the new issue of StyleWatch Magazine (Dec.10/Jan.11) called, “Perfect Party Dresses.” It lists 6 categories of “perfect” dresses:lace, sequins, metallic, black, colorful, and embellishments. Under each category there are several styles to choose from—as well as a wide range in prices.
Here are the lace ones:
Lace is popular with the celebrity ladies at red carpet events this year:
Heidi Klum in blace lace at the American Music Awards, November 2010.
Scarlett Johansson at the MTV Awards in green lace Dolce and Gabbana. This is an outstanding dress.
Blake Lively in Chanel.
Bottom half of the dress -- spectacular!
Nicole Kidman in navy blue lace dress by Clements Ribeiro -- at the premiere of "Rabbit Hole," December 2010.
Kristen Stewart in a Valentino lace dress.
Katy Perry in a purple lace dress at a KIIS-FM party in L.A., December 2010.
Emma Watson at the premiere of the new Harry Potter movie -- in black lace and feathers in the front and sequins in the back dress by Rafael Lopez, November 2010. Love the hair cut, too.
Taylor Swift in a lace dress by Jenny Packman -- CMT Artist of the Year Award, November 2010.
Michelle Williams in a red lace frock at the premiere of "Blue Valentine."
Kirsten Dunst in a black lace with ruffle cuff Valentino dress at the premiere of "All Good Things," December 2010.
Hilary Swank in a black lace dress by Emilio Pucci -- at the Gotham Independent Film Awards, November 2010.
Juliette Lewis in red lace Dolce & Gabbana dress, November 2010.
Isla Fisher wearing the same D&G red lace dress at a premiere in London, October 2010.
Blake Lively in another black lace Chanel creation. Does she get these dresses free? Must be nice!
Cher combines lace and sequins at Burlesque premiere.
I like lace, too—it’s feminine and mysterious looking. I like the intricate design and fussiness. To me it has the same vibe as an Alphonse Mucha art nouveau painting or the paintings in the Book of Kells.
In picking out a party dress, the most important element is the style of dress. Does its shape flatter your shape? I think that’s where most women make the mistake: they buy a dress because its stylish but doesn’t necessarily look great on them.
If you’re dressing strictly for yourself, you can wear whatever you want. Likewise if you’re Cher.
If you’re dressing to impress your girlfriends, you buy a couture dress that would make Anna Wintour drool.
If you’re dressing to make a point, like Lady Gaga, you can wear meat.
But if you’re dressing to look attractive to guys, I think you need to take into consideration the lesson of my last blog, which is the woman’s physical attribute that attracts men the most: the waist-hip ratio.
This means you pick a dress that shows off your figure.
Most of the dresses in the StyleWatch article of “perfect dresses” did NOT fit this criteria. For instance, a high-waist baby-doll style is not sexy. It’s cutesie. I think you need more of a va-va-va-voom factor.
That’s why I love vintage wiggle dresses. They look like an hour glass—without you in it. When you’re in it they scream: “I am Woman — see my curves!”
Here’s one of my vintage dresses that I would wear to a holiday party. It combines classic lines with frilly lace and the rich texture of taffeta.
Vintage black wiggle dress with lace adornment on the neckline and waistline.
Universally flattering scoop neckline with lacey decolletage = SEXY!
Backside equally pretty with plunging lacey "V" and three little black bows.
You can’t go wrong with the bombshell style wiggle dress — it’s timeless.
The second best thing about vintage dresses is that you don’t have to spend a fortune on them. You can find a very cool one for $50 or less. Check out EBay or Etsy.
Next up, the shoes and vintage hat I would wear with this dress. Fashionistas, stay tuned…
