Evening Wear: How to Choose the Best Dress for the Occasion?

You've been invited to a wedding, you have a social gala, it's your graduation, the company party, etc. ... ; I bet one of the first questions you ask yourself is: What am I going to wear?! And it's true, choosing what to wear day-to-day will always be easier than picking an outfit for an important event.

Fashion is often criticized for being superficial, but in reality, that superficiality is an inevitable response from society. Every event is a grand runway simply because all eyes, even those who claim not to care about what they wear, are more alert on these occasions. Yes, what each person carries within them is what should matter most, but that's not visible, and we are naturally beings whose communication is 90% visual. At work or during a casual daily meeting, our eyes already assume a certain way of dressing, usually linked to the first impression, and then they focus on reports, food, etc. At an event, we are more relaxed, and thus our eyes seek more information. But don't stress, a party is a great opportunity to reaffirm who you are or to show what's new in you; let others see your best version.

That said, I'll share 5 ideal tips for choosing the best dress for that important event:

1. Define your objective for the event.

This will clearly depend on the type of event you have (wedding, company party, quinceañera, etc.) and your relationship with the honorees, the person who invited you, or the organizers. It's not the same to go to the company's year-end party as it is to your boss's wedding, where if you were invited, they surely already trust you professionally but are inviting you to get to know you more personally. Just as you wouldn't have to speak as formally here, your attire can also be more expressive; but you should still moderate yourself and ensure your outfit doesn't reflect things you wouldn't want to show at work.

At a 100% family or long-standing friends' event, the objectives can be more relaxed, and you can think more about things like wanting to dance all night, so your dress needs to be very comfortable; or wanting to express all your love as a mother to the bride, and then your outfit can surely have things that make her feel loved. Also, at these events where everyone already knows you, you can take the opportunity to surprise them with an outfit that announces a part of you that you hadn't shown before and that is now important in your life. Perhaps you are the youngest in the family and they still see you as 14 when you are 24; show yourself as a woman with colors with more character or sophisticated cuts.

2. Express your personal style.

Personal style is what shows your way of being, so you should have it well identified. In our study, we identify 6 main styles: Romantic and feminine, sensual, bohemian, minimal, modern, and elegant. It doesn't mean that if you're romantic, you can't be elegant; normally our personalities have 3 stronger traits, and you can choose which side you want to show more that day.

A very modern graduate might wear a very original cut in a romantic pink tone with a very sensual neckline.

3. Recognize your ideal silhouette.

For this, it will be important that you, alone in front of the mirror, generally identify your body type. To do it more objectively, you can be guided by general body types: triangle, inverted triangle, oval, rectangle, and hourglass. Any morphology guide can help you, although an expert's eye can always advise you better. At Débh Herrera, we always evaluate this in our clients to propose silhouettes and details that balance their bodies and highlight their best features.

Almost anything can be worn if you know how to transform it. For example, if you've always dreamed of a mermaid dress but don't have wide hips (inverted triangle body), there are possibilities like adding draping, bows, or embroidery to the lower part to create a volume effect.

4. Identify the ideal color and textures for you.

You can apply a bit of colorimetry and recognize which colors suit you best; generally, we are either warmer or cooler, brighter or duller, and darker or lighter. This can be complicated and confusing; the ideal is to consult an expert who can help you train your eye and identify, for example, a cool yellow from a warm one and understand why one suits you better than the other. An easy way to tell if you are cool or warm is to stand next to a window with natural light and look in the mirror with a gold and silver garment or paper near your face; if your features are accentuated by silver, you are cool, and by gold, you are warm.

At Débh Herrera, we help you wear silver well even if you are warm; there are tips to do so, such as adding accessories or silver with warm thread accents.

Regardless of your colorimetry, each color conveys a message, and that will also allow you to choose the best one. Bright colors are cheerful and strong, while pastels can also be happy colors, though with a more subtle and romantic energy. Metallics will speak of sensuality and glamour, perfect if you want to be seen as a true "star." Dark tones will be more enigmatic, sensual, and/or serious; lighter tones exhibit a more open, clear, and clean personality.

Matte textures are cleaner and simpler, letting elegance lie in a good cut. Shiny and/or heavily embellished textures with stones and embroidery speak of a lavish, glamorous, and even more exuberant personality.

5. Choose trends.

On this topic, in our studio, we are friends with the phrase: "From fashion, what suits you." Looking good means you absolutely don't feel disguised, and sometimes by adopting a trend, we can erase our personality. For example, just because you are feminine and romantic and the "coquette" style with bows is trending, it doesn't mean you should choose a dress full of huge bows. Perhaps you are feminine and elegant, so a pretty bow at the waist can add enough of the trend.

Sometimes the problem with trends is that they can pass very quickly, and perhaps in a few years, you'll look at the event photo and feel disguised.

Something we highly suggest at Débh Herrera is to know the trends suggested by magazines, websites, fashion shows, or blogs, but then to see how more real people wear them. The ideal is to check red carpets where actors, not models, will present what's in style, but you'll see how many runway dresses are adapted for the person and the occasion.

The other great advantage is that you can identify with a celebrity because she always reflects perhaps traits of your personality. Check how she wears trends; normally, we admire what we want to be, and what we want to be is, in a way, already within us.

I hope these five points can guide you. I gladly await you at the Débh Herrera studio to help you choose the ideal piece or even create it from scratch for you.