The single most useful thing to know about a cocktail dress is that you have to sit down in it before you buy it, not just stand in front of the mirror pulling your best standing up shape. Most of an evening happens sitting, in a chair, in a booth, on someone's garden wall at midnight, and a dress that rides up at the hip or gapes at the back the second you bend isn't a dress, it's a liability you've paid good money for.
In the shop, check the lining first, because a cheap slippery lining under a nice outer fabric will cling to tights in a way that ruins the whole line of the thing by nine o'clock. Check the zip is metal, not the flimsy nylon kind that splits if you've had a glass of wine and a big laugh, both of which tend to happen on the nights you're wearing it. Hold it under the brightest light the shop has, not the kind flattering lamp near the changing room, because a colour that looks rich and deep in there can turn muddy or flat the second you're under a proper ceiling light, and I've learned that one the hard way with a burgundy that photographed like a bin bag. If you've nothing in this category yet, start with something in a single strong colour rather than a print, cut close through the body and a little looser from the hip down, because that one dress will do a wedding, a leaving do and a Christmas thing without ever looking like it's repeating itself, which a bold print, gorgeous as it is, will absolutely do if the same twelve people see you in it twice.
For pairing, think about what's already hanging up rather than buying a whole new outfit around it. A plain cocktail dress sits happily under the denim jacket you already own for the walk home, takes a pair of boots instead of heels without losing its nerve, and will layer under a good coat you'd wear to work on a Monday, which is the real test of whether something's worth the money, not how it looks for the three hours it's meant for but how many ordinary things it can be worn with before and after. A longline cardigan over it on the way there solves the cold without you needing a separate going out coat at all.
The mistake is buying it a size down because you're planning to lose a bit before the event. You won't, and even if you do, a dress that's tight on day one only gets tighter once you've sat down in it twice.
Yellow DressesThe Best Yellow Satin Cocktail Dresses to Shop Now
Yellow DressesYellow Strappy Cocktail Dresses for Your Next Night Out
Yellow DressesYellow Maxi Cocktail Dresses You Can Dress Up or Down
Yellow DressesYellow Cocktail Dresses: Our Top Picks
Wrap DressesEffortless Wrap Maxi Cocktail Dresses We Love
Wrap DressesWrap Midi Cocktail Dresses Picked by Us
Wrap DressesWrap Mini Cocktail Dresses for When You’ve Got Somewhere to Be
Floor Length DressesA Closer Look at the Best Wrap Floor Length Cocktail Dresses
Wrap DressesThe Wrap Cocktail Dresses We Keep Going Back ToAlso worth a lookMidi DressesI used to think midi dresses were what you wore when you'd given up on deciding whether to…See the collections →
Strapless DressesWhite Strapless Cocktail Dresses for Your Next Night Out
White DressesWhite Strappy Cocktail Dresses We Love Right Now
White DressesWhite Satin Cocktail Dresses for When You’ve Got Somewhere to Be
White DressesWhite Lace Cocktail Dresses That Earn Their Place
Cut Out DressesWhite Cut Out Cocktail Dresses With Real Wardrobe Staying Power
White DressesWhite A Line Cocktail Dresses: The Ones Worth Your Money
Velvet DressesVelvet Mini Cocktail Dresses: Picks We Stand By
Embellished DressesA Closer Look at the Best Velvet Embellished Cocktail Dresses
V Neck DressesOur Kind of V Neck Maxi Cocktail DressesAlso worth a lookMaxi DressesA maxi dress is only as good as its hem, because that is the part that catches wind,…See the collections →
V Neck DressesV Neck Midi Cocktail Dresses for Your Next Night Out
V Neck DressesV Neck Mini Cocktail Dresses That Flatter Without Trying
Tie Waist DressesTie Waist Mini Cocktail Dresses That Make Getting Dressed Easy
Tiered DressesEffortless Tiered Cocktail Dresses We Love
Tiered DressesOur Shortlist of Tiered Midi Cocktail Dresses
Tie Waist DressesTie Waist Cocktail Dresses for When You’ve Got Somewhere to Be
Floor Length DressesThe Tie Waist Floor Length Cocktail Dresses Shortlist
Tie Waist DressesTie Waist Maxi Cocktail Dresses You’ll Want to Live In
Tie Waist DressesThe Tie Waist Midi Cocktail Dresses We’d Wear AnywhereAlso worth a lookMini DressesThe thing nobody mentions about a mini dress is what happens to the hem after the third wash and the fifth wear.See the collections →
Our Top Tassel Cocktail Dresses Right Now
Our Shortlist of Teal Cocktail Dresses
Sweetheart Cocktail Dresses: The Edit
Structured Cocktail Dresses You’ll Reach for First
Strappy DressesEffortless Strappy Maxi Cocktail Dresses We Love
Strappy DressesThe Prettiest Strappy Midi Cocktail Dresses Around Right Now
Strappy DressesEffortless Strappy Mini Cocktail Dresses We Love
Strapless DressesStrapless Strappy Cocktail Dresses Actually Worth Buying
