beyond the basic black dress

created on Nov 4, ‵08
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With all the beautiful colors in the world, it’s a wonder why we all gravitate toward basic black. Yes, black is sophisticated, elegant, and easy to wear, but bold is a beautiful alternative. When you’re wearing color, the approach is different than with black. When you’re wearing a basic black dress there’s more room to play and “merchandise” it up. When you’re wearing a vibrant color, you want to let the color speak for itself. There’s no need to to go crazy on accessories – keep it simple and modern. A good way to keep it looking fresh and on trend (right now) : pair it with patent pumps and a clutch. Avoid matching the color of your shoes to your dress (that is dated.) So, the next time you’re standing in your closet wondering what to wear to the cocktail party, decide to be bold! I’m leaning toward the blue or green dress – which one do you like?

Colorful dresses in this observation:

  • Preen Power bandage hot pink dress
  • Proeza Schouler silk origami green dress
  • Abaete Violetta Dress
  • Quail Frenchie Dress in Violet/Cream
  • Nathan Jenden Miyamo yellow organza dress
  • MINT jodi arnold turquoise Ruffle hem dress


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    • http://unlikelyhousewife.blogspot.com Elisa

      I've had my eye on the purple Abaete ever since I first saw it, it's absolutely love it and if I could pull it off that'd be my pick. But the violet Quail (which alooks cobalt here – both great colors) is also lovely!

      I actually like colorful dresses a lot more than black ones. Black is the go-to evening color in NYC it seems (and in Switzerland, where I lived before moving here) but in Italy, where I am originally from, it is much more common to see jewel tones and bright colors. I do hate when they match the shoes to the dress though.

    • http://styleobserver.com Jean V. Pratt

      The purple Abaete is beautiful – you can totally pull it off. I agree – I love to see jewel tones instead of black. It's much more interesting -alluring.

    • http://www.peacocks.co.uk/Womenswear/Dresses/Evening_Dresses/BLACK_SEQUIN_DRESS-25821052.html black sequin dresses

      There are pretty sweet cuts on some of these dresses – pity i cant really afford that much right now, the crdit crunch is biting hard over here in the UK. I quite liked the dress in the link from Peacocks – stylish and cheap!

    • http://www.pastryshoescollection.com/clothing/ Pastry Clothing

      wow very cool to wear,i love it,i can wear anytime,wishing i have it on my closet,for sure i will take care of it