Girls' Dresses and Gowns for Weddings, Prom, Parties and Formal Evenings

Start with the room, then the dress

A special occasion asks for a dress, and the dress has a job. It has to suit the time of day, survive a few hours of sitting and standing, and still look like you in the photographs. Girls' dresses and gowns cover a wide set of days: a friend's wedding, a school prom, a birthday, a winter party, a formal dinner. The silhouette that is right for one of those is awkward at another.

This guide is for the person wearing the dress, whether that is a teenage girl choosing a prom gown or a young woman dressing for a wedding. The photographs are styling references, not a shop. Use them to see how neckline, fabric, length and accessories change the occasion a dress belongs to.

The champagne satin gown at the top is an evening dress in the plain sense of the word. A cowl neck, a long panel of satin falling from one shoulder, a brooch gathering the drape at the hip, and a slit. The shoulder panel is the wrap, so you can arrive covered on one side and still have a bare shoulder in the photograph. Champagne is beautiful at a gala, a formal dinner or a winter ball. At a wedding it can read as bridal, especially in candlelight, so treat it as a guest dress only when the couple has been clear that pale colours are welcome. Sit in the slit before you decide. Fabric that looks modest when you stand can open higher on a chair. A nude shoe disappears, which is what you want when the satin is the colour story. The necklace in the photograph is a collar on the low neckline. It works because the other shoulder is already busy with the drape. Add large earrings as well and the head becomes the outfit.

The dresses that follow are one set of ideas for the same kinds of days: a wedding, a prom, a party, a birthday, a formal evening. A beaded one-shoulder, a chiffon column, a ball gown, a satin mini and a velvet midi can each belong to more than one of those rooms. White, ivory and a pale solid that photographs as a bridal gown are the colours to leave at a wedding, and if you know the wedding party's colour, do not match it exactly. The wedding guest dress codes guide translates the words on the invitation. These are the elegant dresses for girls and young women when the day is dressed up, and they still have to be dresses you can sit and move in.

Blush floral off-the-shoulder gown

Off-the-shoulder puff sleeves, a printed tulle skirt and a garden behind it: daylight, soft ground, a celebration that is dressed up without being black tie. The same dress in a dark ballroom would look out of place. Plan for grass or gravel and a breeze. A full tulle skirt catches wind, and a stiletto sinks. A block heel, a wedge or an elegant flat will still look dressed with the sleeves and the floral print. The print is already the decoration, so keep jewellery small: studs, a thin bracelet, nothing that fights the neckline. Blush can sit close to bridal. The flowers break the pale ground up, which is why a printed blush usually reads as a guest and a plain ivory column does not. If the couple has asked for colour, or the wedding party is in blush, pick a different dress.

Best for

Daytime garden weddings and outdoor celebrations

Fabric

Printed tulle with puff sleeves

Length

Full floor-length skirt

Shoes

Block heel, wedge or an elegant flat

Why it works — The print keeps a pale gown in guest territory, and the sleeves give a garden dress a shape without a jacket.

Pink ombre one-shoulder gown

A one-shoulder neckline with floral beading from the bodice into the skirt is an evening wedding guest dress, and it also works when a garden ceremony runs into a dinner. One shoulder stays put when you dance, which a strapless bodice often does not. The colour moves from pink through the body to a cream hem. That cream would be a problem if the whole dress were pale. The pink bodice keeps it in guest territory. Beading is formal on its own, so a delicate necklace is plenty. In the photograph the shoes are flat sandals on stone, which is the right instinct for a courtyard. If the reception is a dance floor, change into a low block heel you have already walked in.

Best for

Garden-to-evening or cocktail weddings

Fabric

Sheer ground with floral beading and sequins

Length

Floor length, skimming the foot

Shoes

Flat sandal on stone, low block heel to dance

Why it works — The beading supplies the formality, and the single shoulder gives you a strap that will not slide down during a long reception.

Dusty rose chiffon column

A column is the wedding guest shape for a church, a city ceremony or any room where a ball skirt would block the aisle. Dusty rose chiffon with a cowl neck, a drape at the hip and a small gold brooch is dressed without being loud. Chiffon moves, and it also shows a lining, a slip and the outline of your legs in strong sun, so look at it outdoors before you commit. The shoulders are mostly bare. A church and an air-conditioned dinner both want a wrap in a close colour, something you would be happy to wear in the group photograph. Nude or rose heels keep the line long. This is a seated-dinner dress: the skirt is narrow enough for a chair, and the brooch is the only hard ornament.

Best for

Church, city hall, seated dinners

Fabric

Chiffon or georgette over a slip

Length

Floor-length column

Add

A stole or fine wrap in the same colour family

Why it works — Soft colour and a narrow skirt read as formal in a crowded room, where a full gown would be in everyone's way.

Royal blue satin with an organza overlay

Blue is one of the easiest wedding guest colours. It cannot be mistaken for a bridal gown, it photographs clearly in evening light, and it still feels celebratory. This one is a satin column with a cowl neck and thin straps, covered by a sheer organza piece that falls off the shoulders like a cape. That overlay is your jacket. You may not need a separate cover unless the venue is genuinely cold. Satin creases across the lap, so sit in it at home and see whether the creases bother you. The organza catches on chair backs. Gather it onto your lap when you sit, the way you would a scarf. Leave the jewellery quiet. A fine chain and small earrings are enough against this much cloth.

Best for

Evening weddings and ballroom receptions

Fabric

Satin under sheer organza

Colour

A clear blue, far from white

Watch

Satin creasing, and the overlay catching on chairs

Why it works — The colour does the guest work, and the sheer layer means you arrive already covered without a coat that fights the dress.

Teal and black tulle ball gown

This is the classic prom ball gown: strapless, a defined waist, and a skirt with enough black tulle over teal to fill a doorway. The bow at the waist is what stops the volume looking like a costume. It gives the eye a place to land. Sheer black gloves suit the entrance and the first photographs. Take them off to eat. They are a styling piece, not part of the dress. A strapless bodice needs to stay put when you dance. Raise your arms in the fitting room, and again after you have been sitting in a car. If it slips, the dress is the wrong size or it needs a better internal grip, not a smaller pair of heels. Plan the car. A skirt this wide wants the front seat pushed forward, or a friend to help you in.

Silhouette

Strapless ball gown

Fabric

Teal ground under black tulle

Detail

Bow at the waist, gloves for photographs only

Plan for

Doorways, the car, and a bodice that stays up

Why it works — Black tulle over a jewel tone looks formal in photographs, and the bow gives a very large skirt a clear waist.

Bronze glitter ruffle ball gown

Cascading ruffles in glitter tulle are an indoor, evening dress. Daylight makes this much sparkle look harsher than the fitting-room mirror, and a garden will catch every layer. The ruffles add width from the hip down, so the strapless bodice has to fit closely or the whole shape goes wide. Hair up, or swept back, lets the neckline show. Glitter sheds. It will be on the car seat and on anyone you hug, which is fine if you expect it and annoying if the dress was meant to be a one-night secret. Sit on the top layers rather than crushing them under you, and check that the innermost layer is soft against your skin. Tulle at the waist can scratch through a long dinner.

Silhouette

Strapless ball gown with tiered ruffles

Fabric

Glitter tulle over a softer lining

Best light

Evening, indoors

Watch

Shedding glitter, scratchy tulle, width at the hip

Why it works — The ruffles create the volume in layers you can gather, which is easier to manage than a single stiff hoop.

Mauve beaded mermaid with a petal hem

A mermaid is the fitted prom dress. This one is beaded through the bodice, with vertical lines of sparkle that follow the body, then a skirt of organza petals from about the knee. That petal hem is the practical part. A true mermaid that stays tight to the ankle makes stairs and dancing a project. Petals give you a step without giving up the fitted line in photographs. The neckline is a deep V, and the pendant in the photograph sits inside it. That is the right scale. A second necklace, or a large hoop, starts to compete with beading that is already the jewellery. Metallic or nude sandals disappear, which keeps the petals as the finish. Walk a staircase in it. If you have to take tiny steps, ask whether a heel you already own is worth that.

Silhouette

Mermaid, released into petals at the knee

Detail

Beaded bodice, organza petal skirt

Jewellery

One pendant that sits in the neckline

Test

Stairs, a normal walking step, sitting

Why it works — You get the fitted photograph people want from a mermaid, with a hem that still lets you move.

Pale yellow embroidered off-the-shoulder gown

Off-the-shoulder satin with silver floral embroidery is the embellished prom dress that does not rely on a full skirt. The bodice is ruched, the neckline sits on the upper arm, and a long ruffle falls from the hip. Embroidery on the bodice and again on the sheer hem means you do not need a statement necklace. Studs are enough. Pale yellow is a specific colour in a photograph. In warm daylight or warm bulbs it looks like butter. Under greenish hall lighting it can turn flat or slightly green. If your prom is in a gym or a hall with harsh overhead lights, a deeper colour will hold. If the venue has warm light, or you will be outside before sunset, this yellow earns its place. Off-the-shoulder stays up more reliably than strapless for a lot of people, because the neckline has the arms to anchor it. Check that it does not dig after an hour.

Silhouette

Off-the-shoulder mermaid with a side ruffle

Fabric

Satin with silver floral embroidery

Jewellery

Small studs. The embroidery is the ornament.

Light

Warm daylight or warm indoor bulbs

Why it works — The embroidery replaces a necklace, and the off-the-shoulder line is steadier on a dance floor than a strapless bodice.

Navy ruched strapless gown

Navy satin, ruched from the bust through the hip, with a sheer layer that lengthens the hem, is the fitted prom dress you can wear to something else later. A winter formal, a dark-venue party, an evening wedding that is not asking for colour. Ruching is kinder than a smooth fitted panel. It follows the body without asking the dress to be a second skin, and it hides the sort of crease a plain satin column shows the moment you sit. Strapless is the condition. It has to stay up with your arms over your head. If it only stays up when you stand still in the shop, it will not stay up at prom. The sheer hem adds length without much weight, which helps if you are between a midi and a floor-grazing dress. A nude or metallic shoe, hair off the neck, and one pair of earrings. Navy does not need help.

Silhouette

Strapless ruched mermaid

Fabric

Satin with a sheer hem overlay

Why navy

Reads as prom now and as an evening gown later

Test

Arms overhead, and the bodice after you sit

Why it works — Ruching gives a fitted satin dress some ease, and navy is formal in almost any evening room.

Cream satin mini with bell sleeves

A high neck, a cut-out at the chest, long flared sleeves and a short asymmetric hem is a party dress with a point of view. The satin does the evening work. The length does the rest. Wear it to a birthday that is genuinely a party, a dinner that will turn into dancing, or any night when a floor-length gown would be too much. Do not wear it to a ceremony, a church wedding, or a lunch with grandparents unless that is truly the tone of the day. The cut-out and the short hem are the outfit. Add a delicate chain if you want, and stop. A large necklace disappears into the opening and competes with it. The bell sleeves cover the arms while leaving the shoulders out, which is useful in a warm room and useless as a winter coat. Take a jacket you like for the door. Nude or metallic heels, or a sleek boot if the hem is short enough to clear it.

Best for

Evening parties, birthdays, nights out

Fabric

Satin, with stretch if you want to dance

Length

Mini, with an asymmetric hem

Skip it for

Ceremonies and conservative dress codes

Why it works — The sleeves and the high neck keep a short satin dress from looking unfinished, and the cut-out is the single detail.

Olive tea-length dress with beaded sleeves

Tea length is the party length people forget. It clears the floor, it works at a table, and it still feels like an occasion because of the full skirt and the dressed neckline. Olive satin, off the shoulder, with long sleeves covered in beading, suits a birthday dinner, an engagement party, a festive lunch that runs into the evening, or a cocktail wedding if you are a guest and the couple has not claimed green. The beading is beautiful and it can scratch a bare arm, a bag strap, or the person next to you. Run a hand over the sleeve. If it snags, wear it, but do not add a delicate shawl that will catch. A clutch is easier than a shoulder bag. Silver or gold pointed heels, as in the photograph, finish a hem that already has structure. Hair down works here because the sleeves are the event. You do not need an updo to justify the dress.

Best for

Birthday dinners, cocktail parties, festive lunches

Length

Tea length, around mid-calf

Fabric

Satin skirt, heavily beaded sleeves

Bag

Clutch, so nothing rubs the beading

Why it works — The length lets you move and sit, and the beaded sleeve is what makes a simple full skirt look like a party.

Black velvet midi with fur trim

Black velvet, off the shoulder, with white fur at the neckline and again at the hem, is a winter party dress: a December birthday, a New Year dinner, a holiday evening. Velvet reads rich under warm light and heavy under office fluorescents, so this wants a restaurant, a house, or a hotel, not a bright hall. The fur is already a collar. In the photograph there is also a large crystal necklace. Together they are a lot for a small room. If you love the necklace, consider it the focal point and imagine the dress with less fur, or keep the fur and wear studs. You rarely need both at full volume. Velvet marks if you sit on a damp coat or catch it on a ring. A midi hem is the right call for a dinner. You can sit without arranging a train, and the fur at the hem still shows when you stand. A black heel or a pointed boot, a small black bag, and a coat you put on at the door rather than over the fur for the photograph.

Best for

Winter parties and festive evenings

Fabric

Velvet with faux-fur trim

Length

Midi

Edit

Fur collar or a large necklace, not both at full strength

Why it works — Velvet and a pale trim do the festive work, so the dress can stay a simple shape and still look like an occasion.

Black evening gown with a mesh panel and a slit

One long sleeve, a strapless line on the other side, a sheer mesh panel through the waist and a high slit is a modern evening gown. It suits a formal party, a winter dance, or a dinner that is dressed up rather than ceremonial. It is a bold wedding guest dress. Only choose it if the wedding is an evening party and you know the couple well enough to be sure a sheer waist is welcome. The mesh should be lined in a tone close to your skin in the light of the venue, not only in the shop. A single sleeve is useful: that arm is covered, and you are not managing a shawl that slips off both shoulders. The slit is the thing to test sitting down, walking upstairs, and in a breeze. A pearl necklace, as in the photograph, is the right amount of jewellery. The dress already has an asymmetric neckline, a sheer panel and a bare leg. Nude pumps keep it from looking styled within an inch of its life.

Best for

Evening parties, dances, modern formal events

Fabric

Matte jersey or crepe with a mesh insert

Coverage

One sleeve, a sheer waist, a high slit

Test

The slit when seated, and the mesh in the venue's light

Why it works — Asymmetry gives a black column a point of view, and one sleeve solves the wrap problem without hiding the neckline.

Blush strapless ball gown with tiered tulle

Ruched strapless bodice, floral appliqués at the hip, then tiers of blush tulle to the floor. This is the romantic formal gown: prom, a ball, a very dressed birthday, or a wedding guest look when blush is clearly a guest colour and not the bridal one. Tiers are more practical than they look. They collapse when you sit, where a hoop or a very stiff underskirt stays round and pushes into the person beside you. The appliqué at the hip marks the waist, which a strapless gown needs, or the eye reads a tube of tulle. A pearl choker sits in the right place, just above the neckline, leaving the collarbone clear. In a cold room, a shawl in the same blush works if you keep it light. A contrasting jacket cuts the romance in half. Hair up shows the neck and the choker. Hair down is fine if it is smooth. Busy curls plus floral appliqué plus tiers is three textures asking for attention.

Best for

Prom, balls, formal celebrations

Silhouette

Strapless ball gown in tiers

Fabric

Ruched bodice, tulle skirt, floral appliqué

Jewellery

A choker or small earrings, not both loud

Why it works — The tiers give you ball-gown volume that you can sit in, and the appliqué keeps a pale strapless dress from looking unfinished at the waist.

Cream floral mermaid with a rose at the neck

A pale floral mermaid, a chiffon rose and scarf at the neck, a few scattered crystals and a ruffled hem is a spring and summer celebration dress. Think a birthday lunch, a garden party, a family gathering, a bridal shower if you are not the bride. The rose is the necklace. Adding a chain on top of it crowds the throat and hides the detail you chose the dress for. The hem is playful without a costume: a ruffle you can walk in, not a train you have to carry. Flats or a low sandal suit a garden. A low heel suits a restaurant. The ground is pale, so in hard daylight the dress can wash out. The rose, a lip colour you like, or both, give the photograph a point of focus. A single fresh flower in the hand is the picture. You do not need to carry one all afternoon.

Best for

Birthdays, garden parties, daytime celebrations

Fabric

Printed chiffon or organza, lightly embellished

Length

Ankle-grazing mermaid with a ruffled hem

Jewellery

None at the neck. The rose scarf is the piece.

Why it works — The print and the ruffle make a simple mermaid feel like a celebration, and the neck detail means you are already finished.

Black midi with a cropped cream jacket

A square-neck black midi, a cropped cream jacket, pearls and a structured white bag is the special-occasion outfit for a restaurant, a graduation dinner, or a birthday where a gown would feel like too much. The dress on its own is a good evening piece. The jacket is what makes it look planned in daylight and in a family photograph. Take the jacket off if the room warms up or the plan moves somewhere louder, and the dress still stands. Pearls and a white bag agree with the jacket, which is why the combination holds. A black bag would also work. A loud metallic bag would pick a fight with a look that is already complete. This is close to the logic in our dinner date outfits: one fluid or simple dress, one structured layer, one polished finish. Heels can be low. You will be at a table.

Best for

Birthday dinners, graduations, family celebrations

Dress

Square-neck black midi

Layer

Cropped cream jacket in a textured cloth

Finish

Pearls and a small structured bag in cream or white

Why it works — The jacket and the bag do the occasion work, so the dress can stay simple enough to wear again without them.

How to choose the right dress

Start from the invitation, not from the dress you liked online. Time of day, the building, the ground underfoot, and whether you will mostly sit, stand or dance will remove more options than colour ever will. A floor-length tulle gown is a poor answer to a lunch. A mini is a poor answer to a ceremony. When you are unsure of the dress code, go slightly more formal and slightly less bare. Being a little dressed up at a wedding or a formal party disappears. Being underdressed shows in every photograph.

Length, fabric and colour

• Mini and very short hems belong to parties and nights out. They read as casual the moment the event has a ceremony or a family lunch attached.
• Knee to tea length is the useful middle: cocktail weddings, birthday dinners, daytime celebrations, anything with a table and a bit of standing.
• Midi suits restaurants and city weddings. Floor length suits prom, black tie, evening weddings and formal balls. A train is only worth it if someone else is there to move it.
• Satin shines and creases, and it can feel hot against the skin. Chiffon and georgette move, and they need a lining you have actually looked at in daylight. Velvet is a cold-weather cloth. Tulle makes volume and can scratch at the waist if the lining stops too low. Beading adds weight and can catch on other dresses in a group photograph.
• Wear a colour you already know you like in pictures. A pale yellow that delights you is a good prom dress. A pale yellow you chose only because it looked striking on someone else will feel borrowed by the time the camera comes out.

Comfort, fit, weather and your own style

Fit is the part you cannot style your way out of. A strapless bodice that slips, a waist that digs when you sit, a mermaid hem that shortens your step: those show up as discomfort first and as odd photographs second. Move in the dress before you buy it or before you alter it. Arms up, sit, a flight of stairs if you can find one, and a look at the back, because that is the view in a lot of party photographs.

Weather is a clothing decision, not a mood. Organza is not a coat. A velvet midi in July will exhaust you. A chiffon column in a December church needs a stole you are willing to be photographed in, not a puffer you shrug off at the door and hope no one noticed. Our seasonal guides for spring, summer, autumn and winter are about day-to-day clothes, and the same test applies here: if you would be cold or overheated in that cloth at that time of year, the gown will not feel different just because it is formal.

Then be honest about what you wear when nobody is grading you. If you never choose a full skirt, a column or a tea-length dress will get worn again. If you are happiest in black and navy, a burgundy velvet or a royal blue satin will feel more like you than a colour you have never worn. The most photographed gown in the shop is the wrong one if you will spend the night tugging it.

A gown that only works with one theme will be worn once. A clear colour, a neckline you actually like, and embellishment you can quiet down with smaller jewellery will also work for a formal, a gala or a winter wedding.

How to accessorise dresses and gowns

Accessories should agree with the dress, and then they should stop. A gown with beading, petals, fur, a bow or a print already has a focal point. Jewellery on top of that is a second outfit unless you keep it small. A plain column, a simple midi or a smooth satin is the dress that can take a choker, a pair of earrings or a jacket.

Burgundy velvet, styled at full volume

This photograph is a lesson because it shows every accessory at once: a cream fur stole, black opera gloves, a crystal choker, a small black handbag, a bow in the hair, and pearls already sewn onto the straps. It looks editorial. It is also the maximum. For a real evening, choose two. The stole and the gloves, if the point is a winter formal and you will take the gloves off to eat. Or the choker and the bag, if the room is warm and the pearls on the straps are enough texture. Velvet is matte, so one shiny piece reads clearly. Five shiny and fuzzy pieces read as a costume. The stole is the coat for the walk from the car. Change out of a puffer before the photograph, or take the photograph without the stole and put it on when you are cold. Gloves come off at the table. A small black bag holds a phone, a lipstick and a card, which is all an evening gown leaves room for.

Dress

Burgundy velvet, pearl-trimmed straps, full skirt

Shown with

Fur stole, opera gloves, choker, bow, black bag

Wear

Two of those, plus the pearls on the dress

Remove to eat

Gloves, and the stole if it slips into the plate

Why it works — The dress is already formal. Accessories are there to handle the cold and the hands, not to add a second theme.

Shoes, bags, jewellery and hair

• Match the shoe to the ground and the hours, not only to the dress. Grass, gravel and cobbles want a block, a wedge or a smart flat. A dance floor can take a heel you have already worn. Our shoe guide is about everyday pairs, and the same rule holds: if you cannot walk the room, the outfit is not finished.
• A bag for a gown is small. Phone, lipstick, a card, a pin for a strap. A clutch avoids a strap across beading or fur. The white bag with the black midi works because it matches the jacket. A bag does not have to match the dress. It has to match the other accessories.
• The bag guide goes further on shape. For this kind of dressing, scale matters more than novelty. A large tote with a ball gown looks like you came from somewhere else.
• Jewellery follows the neckline. A cowl or a deep V can take a pendant that sits inside it. A high neck, a rose scarf, a fur collar or heavy embroidery wants studs or nothing. One metal tone is easier than mixing, which is the short version of the jewellery guide.
• Hair up when the neckline, the back or a choker is the point. Hair down when the dress is already busy at the hem or the sleeve. A large bow plus a choker plus gloves is the burgundy photograph. It is a look. It is not a requirement.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a prom dress and an evening gown?

A prom dress and an evening gown can look almost the same. Both are often floor length, both use satin, tulle or beading, and both are meant for a dressed-up night. The difference is the room. Prom dressing can be more decorated, brighter, and more willing to take up space, because the night is built around the dresses. An evening gown for a gala, a formal dinner or a black-tie wedding is usually quieter: a clearer colour, less theme, and details you could wear in front of people who did not all agree to dress as a group. A navy ruched column can be both. A glitter ball gown with a bow and gloves is prom first.

What should a girl wear to a wedding?

Wear a dress that matches the time and the place, in a colour that cannot be mistaken for the bride. Daytime and garden weddings suit a floral tulle, a tea-length dress or a soft column, with a shoe that can handle the ground. Evening weddings suit floor length or a formal midi in a clear colour such as blue, rose, navy or olive. Avoid white, ivory and the wedding party's exact shade. Take a wrap you would wear in a photograph, and read the dress code before you decide between a cocktail hem and a gown. The wedding guest dress code guide goes through those codes one by one.

Which dress styles are suitable for a formal party?

A formal party usually wants floor length or an unmistakably dressed midi. A satin column with a drape, a tiered tulle ball gown, a velvet midi with a considered trim, or a fitted evening dress with one strong detail, such as a sleeve or a slit, all qualify. Mini dresses and very casual fabrics drop the formality even if the colour is pretty. If the party is formal and also a celebration with dinner and dancing, choose a skirt you can sit in and a neckline that stays put. Volume is welcome. Discomfort is what people remember.

How can you accessorise a gown elegantly?

Pick one place for the eye to land, then keep everything else quiet. If the gown has beading, embroidery, fur or a print, wear small earrings and a simple shoe. If the gown is a plain satin or velvet, you can add a choker, a pair of earrings or a stole. A small bag, a shoe you can walk in, and hair that does not fight the neckline will look more finished than a full set of gloves, jewels, a bow and a statement bag worn together. Gloves and stoles come off when you eat. Choose them knowing that.

How do you choose a comfortable dress for a special occasion?

Comfort is a set of tests, not a fabric label. Sit, lift your arms, walk and climb a step in the dress. A strapless bodice should stay up. A waist should not dig. A mermaid hem should let you take a normal step, or the skirt should release around the knee the way a petal or ruched hem does. Choose a cloth for the weather, a length for the amount of sitting you will do, and a shoe for the ground. The dress you forget you are wearing, while it still looks right in the photograph, is the comfortable one.

Choose the dress for the day you are actually having

Girls' dresses and gowns are a set of decisions you can see: length for the event, cloth for the weather, colour for the photographs, and a shape you will still like after dinner. A garden wants something that moves and a shoe that stands up. Prom can take volume or a fitted line, as long as you can dance. A party might be a satin mini, a tea-length celebration dress or a velvet midi. A formal evening wants a gown with one clear idea, not five.

Use the photographs as references for proportion and finish, then choose the version that suits the invitation and the person wearing it. The right dress is the one that belongs in that room, on you, for the number of hours you will be in it.