Ball wear special - Gloss - latest fashion, beauty tips, health advice, celebrity gossip and more...

GlossTV Product Panel

Popular of Late

Home

Fashion

Ball wear special

(2 votes)

For some of us ball season is a much anticipated opportunity to show how spectacularly we scrub up - for others it's a nail-biting and expensive test that feels doomed to fail. Lucky for both types NZ designers are doing typically great stuff this season...

...and enough of it with empathy for feminine curves and their owners' wallets! Just add fairy dust.

Blanco Boutique
Having gotten terribly tired and been given a darn good rest, black is BACK. This dress from online boutique Blanco will take you right into next season with its shoulder interest and ruffles. Wear your hair up to make the overall look dressier - a "done/undone" look is to be strived for (there's a 'how to' from Sydney Fashion Week here).
Special ball season discount! Enter the code 'missy' at Blanco's checkout to receive 20% off! This also gets you free overnight shipping within NZ, valid until the end of June.

Lucie Boshier/Ooby Ryn
Lucie Boshier (below right) is the Crown Princess of colour. Exuberance over restrained elegance? In-your-face gorgeousness over understatement? Lucie is your designer.

And then, what to wear over the top? Many of us will go for a tasteful little cape (Trelise Cooper) or an elegant velvet coat (Tamsin Cooper). But you've got to love Ooby Ryn's rich and riotous purple bolero (far left) with perfect ruffle treatment on the neckline.

State of Grace
Sherilyn Catchpole at State of Grace has never been afraid to use a little drama in her styling. Her gorgeous tulle and silk satin Swallow Dress combines black with sheer and embellishment - so NEXT season! Note the flawless manicure - for balls and evening events perfect polished nails are essential.

Sera Lily
Sera Lily loves designing dresses so much, she's decided to do only that - her entire Spring '08 collection is dresses. Sera has a great sympathy for "real" female bodies and their owners' wallets - her price points are determinedly affordable. Here she plays neutral on neutral by underlining ivory gowns with black accessories, and offsets a certain classicism about the gowns with deliberately exaggerated smoky eyes. The gown on the right shows you can wear a sleeve AND be sexy.

Trelise Cooper
If it's ok to wear shiny fabrics for day this season (and it is) then you can be a veritable beacon at night. Trelise Cooper shines here in a so-right-now navy shade, with a soaring hemline and the season's new again sheer hose. Note the ruffled bodice - any kind of ruffle on your gown will show your fashion literacy.

Caroline Church
Caroline Church designs sensual, stylish gowns fit to be worshipped in! This is Ariadne - it comes in heavy viscose satin in an array of colours, pictured is royal purple. The crossover back and slight train have a '30s inspiration which equals tasteful high glamour. Scared of the plunge neckline? Clever Caroline offers another variation with a higher front and a slightly lower back.

Andrea Moore
Andrea Moore has long been known for doing great fitting, flattering dresses that accommodate more-than-a-handful breasts and other curves. Moore has paired the silver shift at left with interest tights - very current, particularly with the toes peeking out of a peep toed shoe - this former fashion crime is now a sign of savvy! You can get far from ordinary tights online at Funky Tights.

Not only is the languid '20s-inspired look at right absolutely timeless, its floral print gets a big tick for signaling next Spring's hot trend. As long as you're not extremely short, a floor length gown will give the illusion of added height - be a towering beauty.