Joanna in the the throws of illustration passion

Writer, illustrator and author of quirky travel blog- http://www.badaude.typepad.com/ , Badaude has received international acclaim for her work, having appeared in numerous publications including The Guardian, The Economist, and The New York Times. She is currently Paris editor of Stylebible, as well as drawing a weekly column at the Times.  Look out for her latest publication in collaboration with the Tate and upcoming exhibitions in 2011.

Here Badaude chats dress love affairs, disasters, periods of dress torture (the latter,  she attributes to her auntie), and reveals to us her ‘coup de foudre’ dress

You first ever dress was: a bridesmaids’ dress aged 4 in cherry-pink satin which I wore for my aunt’s wedding when I was four. It came with a winter wedding faux-fur white cape and I loved everything about it. The only trouble was that another of my aunts decided on a reprise some years later and kitted me and my cousins out in almost identical cherry-pink satin numbers (with a little more cleavage). Sadly she didn’t realise that what looks good on a 4-year-old doesn’t necessarily suit a 24-year-old.

Your oldest dress: Though I’m not a hoarder I still have the first cherry-pink satin dress. But not the second.

Your most expensive dress: A black Preen bandage dress with a puff over the hips and a highly visible zip right down the back. It takes about half an hour to get into it (and two seconds to get out of it, which may be the point) but it does amazing things to my body and is well worth it.

Seen the most dancefloors: An Isabel Marant cream shirt-dress with a subtle silver lurex stripe: great to wear under my See by Chloe cropped tuxedo jacket. Oddly, I also wear it a lot as a beach cover-up.

Favourite dress: isn’t any more. I spilt paprika-spiked tapas on in in Seville last week. It was an APC shirtdress. Shirtdresses are genius. You can pack 10 different dresses and it’s lighter than carrying 10 t-shirts.

What was the last event you wore a dress to and what did you wear? 3.1 Phillip Lim dress to a wedding: layers of navy chiffon with tiny flowers in a really simple tunic shape with a high slash neck. I wore it with basic thong flat sandals and  black eyeliner.I’d just watched Spartacus and decided to call it my Tony Curtis look.

Mini or Maxi? Mini. If I wear maxi I look like a roll of carpet. Especially in Pucci.

Who are your red carpet idols? Who always gets it right? Clemence Poesy, Sofia Coppola, Emmanuelle Beart, Lou Doillon (can you tell I spend a lot of time in Paris?). And I’d love to look like Jean Seaberg in the black tutu-skirt cocktail dress she wears at the beginning of the movie, Bonjour Tristesse.

Chloe black volume dress

What is your most memorable dress moment? Usually spilling something on one of them disastrously: not the best memories but, like the stains, they do tend to stick… OK maybe trying on a slate grey cocktail dress in the Vanessa Bruno boutique in rue Saint Sulpice in Paris. As I came out of the changing room, a girl came out of the next-door ‘cabine’ wearing exactly the same strapless layered dress but in white. We both thought we looked so fantastic that I bought it to wear as a wedding guest and she ended up buying it to wear for her own wedding.

Which dress would be top of your Girl Meets Dress lust list? It’s not my size but  I’ve fallen in love with the Chloe Volume Gown.

As someone who always has a new event to attend – how would Girl Meets Dress hire complement your life? Dresses are Cinderella objects – more than any other piece of clothing they can transform your perception of yourself. So, although I know my everyday style and seldom deviate, an ‘occasion’ dress is one time I’m happy to experiment. Renting a dress from GMD  means I can let go and experiment: so let’s go with an Elizabeth-Hurley-style Versus safety-pin dress or maybe a Halston Heritage gold lame gown.

Freelance fashion stylist, events manager, PR consultant and author of www.mynewbestfriends.co.uk Karena Sedgwick gives us her life in dresses!

You first ever dress was: The dress I remember the most as a child was a pink bridesmaid’s frilly handmade satin ensemble, you got to love the 80s! I looked a little like Bo-Peep and insisted on having the pink dress, the other 6 bridesmaids were the other 6 colours of a rainbow. I felt like such a princess.

Your oldest dress: The oldest dress i have is a Jaeger vintage nautical striped pencil dress, I love it and it was such a bargain at £2 from a second hand thrift store! I wish I experimented more with vintage, my best friend has a great eye for a vintage bargain we should shop together more!

Your most expensive dress: I love a bit of Erdem, the silk feels amazing on my skin and it fits like a glove. Its worth about £1000. I usually hire or borrow expensive dresses for events; it keeps my bank manager a lot happier!

The dress that has seen the most dance floors: It’s got to be the LBD. I picked up a sexy sequinned LaRock LBD in the Barneys sale whilst at New York Fashion week a couple of years ago; it’s my fail safe lucky dress!

Your favourite dress: My favourite has got to be the floor-length, one shoulder vintage gown given as a present by the gorgeous owner of Love Is Boutique, Tunbridge Wells. I would wear it every day if I could! It’s absolutely decadent.

What was the last event you wore a dress to and what did you wear? It was a Fashion show with Fashion TV and I wore a bandeau mini dress that I picked up in Glasgow Urban Outfitters in the sale for £10 in every colour, so easy to wear, versatile and easy to accesorize. I like to mix high-street and designer and couldn’t resist matching with a pair of Choo’s and some fabulous bling!

Mini or Maxi? With the sun shining finally coming out to play, I love to dig out a maxi dress. There are some amazing designs on the high-street right now. I have my eye on so many! I would love to have the legs to wear a mini but I’m really self-conscious about my pins!

Who are your red carpet idols? Who always gets it right? Scarlett Johansson and Elle MacPherson, so classically beautiful and always look a million dollars.

What is your most memorable dress moment? When I was 21, a boyfriend took me to Amberley Castle for New Year’s Eve. We had a suite for the evening and on the foot of the bed was a gift with my name written on it. I pulled out the most stunning knee length backless, embellished evening dress, by Karen Millen. I wore it with silver D&G sandals, a vintage diamond cuff bracelet and earrings and although the temperature was minus 3 outside when we were standing on the drawbridge of the castle at midnight watching fireworks, I felt so amazing in the dress and so overwhelmed with the perfect evening, I didn’t even notice I had turned blue with goose bumps. I will probs never wear the dress again but it will always sit in my wardrobe and make me smile when I see it.

Which dress would be top of your Girl Meets Dress lust list? How could I possibly choose one, there are so many I would love to wear. For my next Black tie event, I will definitely hire the Ruth Tarvydas Limelight dress but I am a huge fan of your Fendi and Halston Heritage pieces.

As someone who always has a new event to attend – how would Girl Meets Dress designer dress hire complement your life? It simply makes life so easy, and designer fashion so accessible to those who do not have the budget to splash out thousands on a dress you would probably only wear once. It’s such a great initiative and for girls on the go, saves a lot of time and effort. I love it!

Ãœber Stylish Fashionista & Author of the  ‘What I Wore Today’ blog Talks Dresses & Lust Lists….

You first ever dress was: Oooh I couldn’t really say, as a child I used to be dressed in hand-me-downs from an American friend of the family and they were always very ‘different’. It probably fueled my desire to have clothes that stood out.

Your oldest dress: I wear a few of my Mother’s dresses from the 70s, including the dress one of her bridesmaids wore. Some of my most ‘on trend’ dresses this season are nearly 40 years old! 

Your most expensive dress: A very special Burberry dress. It was the first LBD I ever bought.

Seen the most dancefloors: I have a terrible habit of not wearing the same dress out dancing more than a few times (which is why I’m a fan of GMD!) but the dress I have worn the most is probably a cheapie cheap Zara dress. It fits as though it was perfectly tailored to my curves, but it’s dark, insanely cheap and can be shoved in the washing machine so I never have to panic about spilling drinks on it.

Favourite dress: A stunning emerald green silk halterneck maxi dress by Belle & Bunty.

What was the last event you wore a dress to and what did you wear? I hosted an event at Mango’s flagship UK store with Stylist Magazine last week, I wore a gorgeous camel and red colour block dress.

Mini or Maxi? Both! I wear a lot of maxi dresses, I’m 5ft11 with shoes on so I don’t have to worry about drowning under a maxi dress. But I’m learning to love mini dresses too, as long as I can wear tights – I hate my legs!

Who are your red carpet idols? Who always gets it right? I’m in love with Hailee Steinfeld, there are no words for how much I love her. Either she’s a very stylish 14 year old or she has a very talented stylist! Both her Oscar and BAFTA dresses this year were my favourite red carpet gowns of awards season. Penelope Cruz is another firm favourite.

What is your most memorable dress moment? Oooh I couldn’t possibly divulge that, but it involved a black lace mini dress and a rather nice young man.

Which dress would be top of your Girl Meets Dress lust list? I am a huge fan of Christopher Kane, he’s always incredibly sweet to work with and he is sickeningly talented. I love this accordian silk dress . 

As someone who always has a new event to attend – how would Girl Meets Dress complement your life? I always like to wear something new, it’s a bad habit but I know I’m not the only girl like it! GMD not only solves the dress hire issue, it also enables girls to wear dresses which might otherwise be prohibitively expensive. I don’t want to spend hundreds of pounds on a dress I feel like I can only wear to an event once, so I’d rather pay a fraction of the price to have it for one weekend. The GMD collection is so well curated too, I’ve discovered dresses I’d have never have come across otherwise.

Prom dress hire is a phenomenon that is sweeping the nation.  UK prom dresses hire has seen a huge rise over the past couple of years.  British soap stars and celebrities seem to be turning more and more to designer prom dress hire when in need of prom dresses, ball dresses, and other types of dresses for events and parties.

Hire Prom Dress Services – Benefits for Stylists

So, just why are celebrity stylists choosing prom dress hire? Prom dress rentals simply afford the stylist more choice, for minimal cost.  What stylist, knowing she can rent this exquisite Gorgeous Couture ‘Bailey’ maxi dress for £69 when to buy, it would cost £149, is going to pass up the opportunity to hire?  Prom dress prices can be huge, and unjustifiable when you consider that the dress is likely to be worn just once.

Designer Prom Dress Hire – Go Hire for Lower

What’s more, hire prom dress services will often offer discount where multiple dresses are ordered.  Which is good news for women whose diaries are fit to bursting with awards attendances, appearance requests, event hosting duties, party invites, and photo-shoots.  By hiring this Halston Heritage waist knot long dress, and this fuschia strapless ball gown (pictured top) by Los Angeles based Dina Bar-El, a stylist can get her client’s third dress free.  Or at least that’s how it works at GirlMeetsDress designer dress hire.  Prom dress shopping has never been easier!