Summer Party Dressing
Building your uniform for an event.
Uniform dressing is of course about the day-to-day, but it very much applies to special occasions, too. My philosophy for choosing evening wear is to build on my everyday uniform and personal style so I still feel like myself, but make it special and unique enough for a more formal dress codes. Unpacking this, I realized I have a sort of formula that my brain runs through in order to feel my most comfortable for an event.
I start with thinking about where the party is going to be and then how you interpret that type of space—the setting is so important. Is it in a garden, a city, a restaurant, the beach, etc. From there, I decide what my iteration of uniform should be for that specific place and that is slightly more exciting- because it’s a party after all.Â
I broke these out in three categories that I feel like can work across all types of settings.Â
Color as The Statement
The first iteration I fall back on is color. I start with the same type of silhouettes, the same types of fabrics that I wear in my everyday uniform, and look for those in a bold color that I feel good in.
The Khaite dress on the left is one I felt completely myself in. I often turn to shades of brown, its serves as a color in the mix of my wardrobe. I also love green and while I don’t wear it often day to day I like this bold kelly with the off-ness of the kelly green with the red bag. Above are past season, but the below fill the same bucket for me.
If I’m doing a color, I’m going to do a longer length because I feel like a color in a shorter length can feel a little juvenile and read too casual for evening parties. This Jil Sander dress is actually a soft, pale green and a really good way to do color if it’s a little outside your comfort zone. Same with the brown and burgundy dresses.
I also think wearing a skirt that makes a statement to a formal party is a really good, easy solve. You could do it with a fine knit or little cashmere tee or tank. Something that feels like your every day on top paired with a statement skirt will feel so effortless but special.
This yellow Tove dress has been around for a few seasons, but I think it still stands. It’s just a good, solid party dress. The red Khaite dress in my opinion is the newer version of this and predict it will be around for a while.
One more note on color, I think with accessories, you can really dress these up or down as much as you want. The Massimo Dutti dress, for example, would be really great with some bigger jewelry, a colorful bag and mule or more dressed up shoe.
A Minimal, Suiting (ish) Take
This is my personal fallback. The color story is your classic navy, black, white, and it’s all has some structure to the fits, waists, and little details in fabric and trim that make them all feel special. Any time I’ve done it, I’ll choose something in a super luxe fabric or have a bow detail, shown above but hard to see.
This white COS dress is a great way to do white if you do it really minimal and clean (obviously not for a wedding). The Attersee vest dress is very chic and would be nice with a trouser underneath it as well.
This Toteme dress is a crinkle fabric, so is really great for travel. It’s a cut that is really flattering on a lot of people. Also available in black!
The Tory dress is a little different but the sculptural, hoop detail at the hem is a bit sporty and unexpected. It just feels like something new.
Florals
I can’t believe this try on photo on the left is the best I have but no other photos were taken somehow! But it’s a great dress. I will do a floral if it’s for the right event and the right floral- which usually is Emilia Wickstead.
All of these floral pieces have structure, a good waistline, and a shape that I typically wear, which is why I still feel myself in them. I love the brown/black floral combo—so pretty for summer with brown strappy sandals and a nice silk bag, but also great for fall or winter
Again, the bottom left pink skirt and bottom right floral dress are both Emilia Wickstead. Her florals are classic, her colors and tones are just right, and the fabric of her dresses has almost a vintage quality and some with true couture-level bodice work. Important note on Emilia Wickstead- it runs super small- usually I take one or even two sizes up.
The Erdem orange floral dress is so cute and just demure. I really like it. The Toteme white leather shell with a black skirt is an unexpected way to do floral but very much how I would do it.
Quick note: A lot of these dresses are investment pieces with composition and style that last for years. Often for events you may not want to re wear as you would for everyday-I recommend keeping a few for many years that you would re wear but also shopping resale sites and utilizing re sell sites to sell.
See you next week for stripes and how to make them look cool!
xo
ali
These florals took my breath away
I’m all for minimal navy blue/ black/grey/brown in the wintertime but come spring I’m all about bold colors and florals. Living in Greece also helps i guess. Thanks for giving my floral journey a whole new perspective