What to consider when shopping for occasion wear

Shopping for occasion wear can be quite an intimidating task as we are usually not in the habit of shopping for them. It will be right to say that all of us can do with some help. A special occasion be it a cocktail party, a formal dinner, a meeting, a black tie event, prom, the races, a wedding function, etc. deserves a special outfit. In my opinion a special dress works best. I wouldn’t ask you to go all out and create a full wardrobe of occasion wear clothes if you only attend a few of such events in a year but i recommend that you keep a couple of pieces, pieces that fit you perfect and you feel great everytime you put them on. 

When shopping for occasion wear dresses here are a few points to keep in mind.

1. Go for more classic styles than trendy styles if you are only going to have a couple of pieces in your closet. Occasion wear is not cheap and you obviously want the dress to serve you for a few years so going classic is sensible.
2. Stay away from prints. I have seen quite a few fab printed occasion wear dresses but prints don’t work for all occasions so its better to invest in solids.
3. While colours look stunning i would suggest you stick to neutrals (black, white, nude, grey) , metallics (gold, silver, bronze, rose gold) and pastel shades of pink and blue or your favourite colour. The reason is neutrals, metallics and pastels are more versatile, wearable and work from events be it in the day or night. Having said that there is one other colour i would love to recommend, midnight blue, gorgeous gorgeous, works for any occasion and be it day or night.
4. Go for detailing like textures and embellishments. Think lace, crochet, pearls, sequins, tulle etc.
5. While a maxi can be a tad bit formal and a mini tad bit casual the midi is the perfect balance and works well for all ages.
6. Although i wouldn't recommend splurging on something you only wear a couple of times a year, its worth spending a tad bit more on quality considering the occasions you will be wearing the dress on.
7. Last but not the least choose the one you feel absolutely WOW in, if you are just going to have one spend your money on what makes you look good and feel good.

I have a few formal events coming up so i was browsing online for occasion wear dresses and absolutely loved the collection on Quiz clothing, gorgeous metallics and beautiful embellished pieces holding on all the points i mentioned above. Also ASOS has a great collection and today i am sharing my favourite occasion wear dresses from my online stroll.

Suggested posts- Styling a formal sequins dress two ways
                         -  An elegant matching set look
                         - Making blazer casual

Thank you for stopping by, see you with my next.

Love

Chichi