Rent Ball Gowns Part of the Biggest Cannes Trends

Red carpet trend: Feathers.  Who wore it well: Carine Roitfeld. Uma Thurman.  Who wore it badly: Bar Rafaeli.

Red carpet trend: White/Champagne ball gowns. Who wore it well: Diane Kruger. Anna dello Russo. Salma Hayek. Bar Rafaeli. Who wore it badly: Courtney Love.  Similar ball gowns for hire: Alice & Olivia cream ball dress. Hire: £79. Original RRP: £269.  Gold silk ball gown for hire, Dina Bar-El: £99. Original RRP: £558.

Red carpet trend: Ruffles. Who wore it well: Julia Saner, Julia Restoin-Roifeld. Who wore it badly: No overt faux pas in particular. If we had to give 1st prize to either of the aforementioned, Julia’s Pucci ball gown would probably get our vote.  Our favourite GMD ruffle ball dress for hire- this Aftershock Audre sundress.  Hire: £39. RRP: £95.

Red carpet trend: Cut-out detailing.  Who wore it well: Giovanna Battaglia, Angela Lindvall. Who wore it badly: No overt faux pas in particular. If we had to go for ball gown look over the other, it would have to be Giovanna’s, particularly as she accessorized with the dapper Vladimir Restoin-Roifeld on her arm.

If you fancy delving into the deep end of fashion challenges that is ‘doing’ cut-out, then this Marc by Marc Jacobs number will ease you into the trend gently. Rent this Marc Jacobs dress for£69.  Or ‘cut’ a dash in a plum Jasmin di Milo dress. For hire: £69. RRP: £505.

Rent ball gowns by dress designers worn by the BAFTA Stars

The annual British film and television awards ceremony, held last night, attracted over 5.3 million views- the largest audience to tune into the ceremony since 2008.  Amongst award winners, Vicky McClure scooped the Leading Actress gong for her role in This is England ’86, while comedian Jo Brand confessed to being completely ‘gob’smacked’ at having won Best Female Performance in a Comedy Role in hospital satire Getting On.   But enough about the awards. What we really want to know is what did they wear!?  We list some of our favourite ball dresses of the evening, plus some of the red-carpet crises that caught our eye.

A Temperley Ball Dress for Minnie

Minnie Driver in a Temperley ball dress.  The 41 year old, something of a red carpet event veteran, showed off her waif, model-esque figure in a white, form-fitting Temperley gown.  Rent Temperley ball gowns from GirlMeetsDress, such as this long Violetta dress.  Hire: £229. RRP: £2,159.  With price tag like that, who knows, it probably cost more than Minnie’s.  She’ll be wanting to borrow yours next!

Marchesa Ball Gown Choice for Annette Bening

Another ‘lady in white’ on the red, defying her 50 something age, was American actress Annette Bening.  In an asymmetric off the shoulder white Marchesa ball gown, Annette oozed timeless glamour.  Looking as good as she did, Annette certainly gave some of her younger acting contemporaries something to red-carpet dressing food for thought. Marchesa ball gowns for hire can be found in our Marchesa and Marchesa Notte ball dress designer index.

Lanvin Ball Gown Glamour for the Lady in Red

We absolutely loved Emma Stone’s Lanvin ball gown, a one shoulder two tone red flowing gown. With nude shoes, gold clutch and cuff, a relaxed up do and barely-there make-up, Emma let her dress do the talking on the red carpet; her outfit truly stood out as a red carpet winner.  And amazingly, the matching colour of said carpet if anything enhanced and didn’t detract from Emma’s retro-glam-tastic maxi ball gown.  A GirlMeetsDress in house designer favourite, Richard Nicoll’s bodice dress has the two tone look down to a tee.  This Richard Nicoll ball gown for hire: £179.  Original price: £1,119.

Rent Alice and Olivia dresses and you’ll be avoiding the following summer nightmare scenario.  Let us set the scene…What with most girls’ summer social calendars a-wash with al fresco soirées, barbecues, and cocktail parties, there’s a lot of pressure on their summer wardrobes to provide an outfit for each of these social engagements.

To Rent: Alice and Olivia Dresses to the Rescue!

But not every wardrobe, even if it is packed with clothes, can deliver the goods. (It may be stuffed with said goods, but just like a TopShop sale rack, together, everything looks good but upon closer inspection of each individual item you just can’t bear to dare to wear!)  Which is why we think what you need is to borrow a dress.  (Alice and Olivia dresses are our current summer favourite.)

Why Borrow a Dress by Alice and Olivia for your Next Summer Do?

The reasons for this are these: Just what would your  really picky ‘friend,’ you know, the one who always looks immaculate, wherever she is, react if you turn up in that same New Look maxi dress you wore to her midsummer night’s dream themed champagne and canapes gathering she held last year?  The answer: you won’t be invited back come next party.  And you sort of want to be.  After all, those canapes were rather tasty!  A far cry from the Iceland vol au vents, which as host you simply don’t dare to serve if she numbers among those on your party guest list.

Rent Alice and Olivia dresses from the Following Selection….

1. GMD’s stylist’s favourite: ‘I personally would borrow this dress by Alice and Olivia because I have a huge crush on the maxi length! Plus the paisley print on this kaftan style dress is fabulously boho. Perfect for the beach, doing al fresco chic…whatever you want.  And you can glam it up with some gold tone accessories for the evening.’ Rent this dress by Alice and Olivia: £119. (Usual RRP: £405).

2. GMD buyer’s favourite: Out of all our our ‘for rent’ Alice and Olivia dresses, top of my list has to be this Flower Blouson dress, purely for it’s easy to wear brilliance.  Romance dress-onified! And lends itself perfectly to colour pop accessories.’  Dress to hire: 89. (Normal RRP: 165).

Josie Hendrick

Wedding planner & stylist & blogger: www.savoirweddings.blogspot.com. Lover of London living, trawling through vintage treasures, and all manner of edgy prettiness

Your first ever dress was:
The first dress I remember was this black party dress with a 50s style green satin skirt with tulle. I ADORED that dress but it was itchy and I preferred looking at it to wearing it really.

Your oldest dress:
I buy a lot of vintage, retro dresses because I like the one of a kind. I have a pink 1950s prom dress but the zip has ripped and I haven’t had it fixed. Plus it’s quite a statement dress and I haven’t had a suitable occasion to wear it yet.

Your most expensive dress:
I discovered this boutique run by a very eccentric character in New York years ago and ended up spending a fortune. I bought this purple oversized, off the shoulder dress which apparently Gwen Stefani had bought as well. I’ve worn it loads though so times per wear it’s definitely been worth it.

Seen the most dancefloors:
This black lace panelled dress I bought ages ago with a peter pan collar (very flattering, love that neckline). It’s a little bit gothic glam but with a slight Victorian feel. It works at dinner parties as much as party parties so I get it out a lot!

Favourite dress:
At the moment the cream lace one from this picture. It’s a TopShop dress that I bought in petite because I liked it better super short with thick tights or leggings. I have a thing for neutral, pastels and anything lace or tulle.

What was the last event you wore a dress to and what did you wear?

I went to a friend’s magazine launch party and wore this tangerine Topshop smock dress with chunky black vintage heels. There were lots of musos there so I actually felt quite overdressed!

Mini or Maxi?

Ooh tough one. Normally mini but in summer I love maxi dresses. I’ve got a plain black one which is perfect for oversized rings and a summer tan.

Who are your red carpet idols? Who always gets it right?

Zooey Deschanel always looks quirky but classy and I love that combo. And although she’s a bit preppy for me I think Emma Watson always looks classic and stylish.

What is your most memorable dress moment?

My mum bought me a bespoke dress from a boutique when we were on holiday years ago for my end of school prom party. It was long and very figure hugging with a slit up the side and reminded me of the sea with a kind of blue and purple swirly pattern. It sounds awful but it was so pretty and unique. And when I walked into the ballroom in it I felt like a superstar!

Which dress would be top of your Girl Meets Dress lust list?

I’ve actually included them in my blog post on you! My number one would have to be the gold Aftershock palais maxi dress. It’s so slinky and sparkly, I’d totally wear it if/when I get invited to the Oscars next year.

As someone who always has a new event to attend – how would Girl Meets Dress dress hire complement your life?
Running my own business doesn’t exactly leave a lot of spare cash for designer dresses. So I’m all for the option to wear something I wouldn’t normally be able to afford. Plus I love the way it can all be done online. Perfect for a girl watching her wallet and with no time to shop!

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