By Carla Challis

The trend: Shoulder show-off
King Charles II would have loved the seemingly accidental, almost innocent off-the-shoulder trend, as though a dress would just fall off at the slip of a hem. Salvatore Ferragamo’s designs are poster pin-up for this trend, with Leighton Meester and Fan Bing Bing wearing his peasant inspired designs. Chloe Moretz structured MaxMara LBD is more eighties working girl, soften by ruffled lines and a girly alice band. Melanie Griffith would be proud…

 

Give other looks the slip and push these wide necked dresses off the shoulder…

From left: 3.1 Phillip Lim Ballerina Dress, Dina Bar-El Sophia, Roberto Cavalli Floral Print Jersey Dress

The trend: Sheer genius
Give the illusion of nude, Rubenesque flesh with this daring favourite of the A-list brigade. Naked they are not, the intricately designed lace or embroidery covers their modesty and gives a killer finish – just look at Malin Akerman‘s stunning gilded Marchesa dress. We love how Catherine Zeta Jones looks as though she’s been caught in a web of ivy whilst Sheryl Crow does demure in navy Marchesa.

Show a little skin with these lace and sheer creations…

From left: Alice and Olivia Heidi party dress, By Malene Birger Moliano Lace Dress, Marc by Marc Jacobs Dahlia Dress

The trend: Gothic Girls
Style’s savviest players are shunning neons and brights, pastels and candy hues for a much darker, devilish palette. Wine red, burgundy, plum and aubergine shades rocked the palest of skintones; from Florence Welch in ruffled Gucci to Lady Gaga in futuristic David Koma (with matching shoes, clutch and sunglasses, natch). But it’s Emma Stone‘s schoolgirl-esque Rochas puffball who gets the goth award for overall cuteness.

  

Show your dark side with these deliciously dark dresses…

From left: Jasmine Di Milo Cross Strap Dress, Alice and Olivia Goddess Dress, Jasmine Di Milo Draped Dress

By Carla Challis

The trend: Exposé
Reveal and conceal with the sexiest way to flash the flesh. We’re not talking giant cut-outs or whole areas exposed, more a carefully placed slash or accented cut-outs – Elizabeth Banks‘ Bill Blass LBD is a prime example. For those more daring, make like Kate Bosworth and show off a toned middriff, which she did in a folk-inspired Alturazza Fall 2012 folk. The less confident can take a leaf out of Zoe Saldana’s book who revealed and concealed with sheer panels on her Prabal Gurung.

Dare to bare with these hot little numbers:

From left: Carven Striped Cut Out Dress,  Temperley London Astrid Dress, Gorgeous Couture The Alexis Dress

The trend: Easy embellishment
An entirely embellished dress means high glamour stakes right? Wrong. Rachel Zoe, Kristen Bell and Erin Fetherstone chose relaxed, almost slouchy dresses to bring a laid back air to otherwise stuffy, super luxe sequinned gowns. A loose fitting kaftan-style dress, like Rachel Zoe‘s own designed black and silver version or opt for a t-shirt style like Kristen Bell‘s Reem Acra or opt for Erin Fetherstone’s short and flirty vest dress.

Show sequins who’s boss in these equally easy embellished choices:

From left: Alice and Olivia Nala Knit Dress,  See by Chloe Black Sequinned Dress, Anna Sui Klimt Sequinned Dress

The trend: True blue
Peacock, aqua, cornflower, periwinkle – everyone was feeling blue this week with every shade featured. Jessica Stam chose a sapphire blue Jason Wu to showcase her new darker locks, mixing it with black lace for a delightfully witchy vibe. In complete contrast, Heather Graham‘s custom made Nicole Miller cornflower blue gown was unashamedly girly, full of frills and ruffles and Hilary Rhoda went tri-blue with a colour blocked Rebecca Minkoff formal frock in azure, navy and sky.

Show your true colours in these blessedly blue dresses:

From left: Dina Bar-El Eleni Gown,  Marchesa Notte Silk Frill Detail Gown, Erdem Moe Dress

By Carla Challis

It’s May and so of course, some of the world’s most stylish women have flocked to the mecca of style – Cannes. From the A-list soirees to movie screenings on yachts, fashion’s tastemakers have been injected an extra shot of glitz to the already glamorous French resort town. And whilst the drama on screen may be plentiful, the fashion drama off screen is even more enthralling – but which trend will you try?

The trend: Aquatic love
From the sea foam shade of Diane Kruger‘s Giambattista Valli gown to the frothy details of Heidi’s Marchesa peekaboo dress, mermaid inspired dresses were washed up in full splendour at Cannes. Kirsten Dunst’s pale blue Louis Vuitton showcases this trend in the most abstract sense – a flash of turquoise and a sea creature-esque belt give her multicoloured dress a (fin) wave to this look.

Use The Little Mermaid‘s Ariel as your muse and wear these gowns where the people are…

From left: Ruth Tarvydas Ice Queen Dress, Marc Jacobs Fantasy Frill Dress,  Bottega Veneta Tulle Trimmed Dress

The trend: The Thigh High Club
It all began back in February with ARL (that’s Angelina‘s Right Leg to you and I) which became more talked about than the Oscar’s her and her leg were attending. In Cannes, the thigh was definitely the limit as pins were put on display. Nina Dobrev, in bejewelled Elie Saab, showed just a hint whilst supermodel Natasha Poly’s Gucci dress left little covered. But perhaps the best display of the ARL is Kim Kardashian, who ‘leg-bombed’ the hell out of her mustard Elie Saab gown.

Prep your legs and dare to bear in these stylish split gowns…

From left: Gorgeous Couture Savannah Maxi Dress,  Halston Heritage Twisted Halter Neck Dress, ALC Darcy Maxi Dress

The trend: White Noise
One colour that remained a stalwart at Cannes was white, with it making a star turn at nearly every single event, premiere, screening and lunch. White lace, white silk, floor length, mini – you name it, some starlet was wearing it. Highlights included Jessica Chastain‘s McQueen gown, Rita Ora‘s twenties inspired maxi and Doutzen Kroes silver and skintight Versace.

White is a fresh colour to wear to any occasion (bar a wedding, unless it’s your own) – try these and you’ll be all white on the night…

From left: Isabel Marant Elastic Lace Dress,  Alexander Wang Draped Bow Dress, Stolen Girlfriends Club Concrete Drape Dress

Last week saw so much buzz on the catwalk during LFW we almost forgot the glamours attending the shows!  Tearing our eyes away from the dazzling couture on the catwalk, attendees included models, singers, socialites, bloggers, editors, photographers (the list goes on).  There were fashionistas everywhere we turned draped in immaculate dresses.  The eclectic mix of fabrics, silhouettes and sequins on display was overwhelming. Naturally with all the press surrounding the biggest fashion weeks around the globe we would have a bazillion favourites so we’ve tried to cut it down.  Here’s a few…

The gorgeous Poppy Delevigne glistened in her long-sleeved Temperley dress.  Perfectly complimenting her blonde-bombshell hair, this sheer number was populated with beads and sequins and stretched to the floor with three layers of tassels.

Pixie Geldof looked as sophisticated as ever in her Giles Deacon gown.  Labelled the ‘Face Dress’ and previously worn by Lily Cole, this frock is extremely unique.  With its bustier style waist and elusive print which creates a layered look, this dress was sure to turn heads.  Pixie glammed it up with peep-toe stilletos and simple gold jewellery.

Rochelle Wiseman wowed crowds in a Roberto Cavalli gown.  The snakeskin floor-length, deep neck dress with front and back cut-outs was an undisputed show-stopper.  With her hair neatly twisted up and simple metallic clutch we’re sure she made Cavalli proud.

Finally, Poppy Delevigne once again however this time sporting a very different style in a Christopher Kane animal featured day dress.  Cool and casual with her Mulberry satchel and red Ray Bans, Delevigne worked this dress to perfection.  Choose from our stunning collection of Christopher Kane with both day and evening dresses.

For styling advice please email: enquiries@girlmeetsdress.com.  Happy hiring! x

By Caroline Dawe