in fresh colours such as white or powdery blue and coral pink, and dress them up with long necklaces and accessories. I think Elle Macpherson carries this style off so well. She sometimes even does her casual look when you see pictures of her on evenings out and she still looks fantastic. Another good idea is plain shirts – I got a blue-and-white striped one from the Kate Moss Topshop range, which looks really smart during the day. Bigger blouse styles can also look great when going out. Slim trousers or ‘boyfriend’ styles (Gap is brilliant for these) will look really stylish. And you’ll be able to wear long, ruffle skirts and full-length maxi dresses. That’s a look I love for summer.
Real Style Quiz
Now it’ time to check your Real Style factor. If you agree with any of the following, tick the boxes next to them:
I love choosing new clothes
I love shopping with my mates
I love getting dressed up
I love looking good
I love feeling good
If you answered YES to all of the above, you’re totally in tune with your Real Style.
If you answered YES to three of the above, you might need a little fine-tuning.
If you answered NO to more than three of the above, you’ve got a Real Style journey ahead.
Dress, Warehouse; shoes, Moschino.
From pretty prom styles to everyday shirt dresses, here’s my guide to the key styles.
Dress, Balenciaga. Photograph © Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images.
I think dresses are more fashionable now than they have ever been; and for a girly girl like me, this is great news, as I absolutely love wearing dresses.
For anyone who thinks that dresses are not their thing, now, with so many looks to choose from, you can be sure to find one that will make you look and feel gorgeous.
I find dresses so easy to wear; a one-stop route to looking good – I just pull one on, add a pair of earrings or a belt, and I’m ready to go. However, some people see dresses as a bit of a frumpy choice, or a fashion ‘no-no’.
Dress, Boohoo.com.
Dresses are a one-stop route to looking good. I just pull one on and I’m ready to go.
The way to prevent a fuddy-duddy look, though, is to just go for a style that doesn’t look too much like something your nan might wear. (But having said that, my nan always looks great.) No, what I mean is, be careful not to go for something that might make you look old before your time. Again, the best trick of all is picking clothes to suit your body shape. Once you’ve got that sorted, there’ll be no stopping your girly side taking over.
The thing I love most about wearing dresses is the fact that they always look so pretty and feminine; and that is exactly how I feel when I wear one. All the big designers create loads of lovely new dresses for their summer and winter collections these days and there’s always something for everyone and every occasion – from draped, Grecian styles to crisp, cotton shifts and show-stopping diva numbers.
So this chapter is about revealing some of the best dress looks of the moment – from day dresses to party dresses, including those classic shapes to suit any style. Here I’m going to help you discover which dresses might be best for you; some looks you might want to try, and some great little styling tips that I’ve picked up along the way.
Five classic dress styles
Whether you like feeling girly as can be or prefer to keep things nice and simple, there’s a dress to suit your shape. Here are five of my favourite styles:
THE PROM
Perfect for real girly girls
All the glossies talk about how fashion has become ultra-feminine over the past few years, and looking at the prom styles by the likes of Chanel, Luella and Beyond Retro, I can see what they mean. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that Sex and the City’s Carrie pulls off the look so well. I just love when Carrie steps out of the door of her New York apartment in a big-skirted vintage dress, with her coat or jacket hanging casually over her shoulders. There’s a real edginess to this look.
Getting the fit right
Prom dresses are all about the waist, so really, as long as the middle part of your dress is clasped in with a big belt or structured band, it’s a look that will suit most figures. The reason that prom dresses are so girly is that the shape focuses on all the feminine parts of our bodies: the waist, neck, shoulders and lower legs. It’s a particularly good look for curvy shapes. If you are not too confident about your upper arms, do what I do and use a scarf as a pretty wrap across your shoulders.
Fitting the prom dress into your style
The prom dress look can be a little over the top, so if you don’t want to go too far with it, I’d choose a fullish skirt that doesn’t have any bouncy layers of netting, and wear a little cardi on top. You can create a more nipped-in look at the waist with a big, wide belt, and definitely wear heels – well, I always do – as you need the extra lift to balance out the volume of the skirt. If you keep your legs bare (with a hint of colour), it looks more elegant, but matt tights will do for winter. If you want to accessorize, I’d pick something that’s not too fussy, as the dress is a statement in itself. Go for classic jewellery: drop earrings will make your neck look longer, especially if you don’t wear a necklace. And ask your nan if you can have a good rummage through her jewellery box.
Dress, Beyond Retro.
Prom dresses are so girly because they are such a feminine shape
THE SHIFT
Perfect for keeping it simple
I find the straight-up-and-down style of shift dresses really easy to wear, and there are so many variations around that you can create lots of different looks. Lindsay Lohan looks brilliant in those Sixties-style mini-shifts, and I bought a fantastic patterned one by Milly, which
