On Christmas Eve my husband and I were invited to a friend’s birthday at Mirage, a Russian restaurant. I thought it was a great opportunity to wear my new dress that I had bought at Century 21 in New York back in August but hadn’t had the chance to wear yet.
I’m very particular when it comes to purchasing dresses. I found that frills, soft fabrics, floral patterns, wide collars, puffed sleeves and pastels - in other words, all that is described as romantic - are not for me. I prefer dresses with clean cut lines, and if it’s not black then the print should be quite distinctive and strong but not too loud. My other dress rule is that it can’t be overly expensive nor does it have to reflect the latest trend. This way I know I’ll be able wear the dress for more than just one season. For example, look at Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress: it’s been around for over 40 years and is still going strong; it’s an icon, really. So when I saw this dress, I instantly fell in love with it. Upon returning home to Australia I showed the dress to my eldest daughter asking for her opinion on it, she was terribly disappointed when she learned that I'd never heard of the designer, Martin Margiela. I' quickly made a point to look him up.
According to https://www.net-a-porter.com/ (yes, it is a valid source of information!):
“Belgian-born Martin Margiela worked for Jean Paul Gaultier before launching his own label in 1988. A leader of contemporary style, the elusive designer - who has famously never appeared on the runway or in photographs - has now handed the creative reins over to an in-house design team that continues to push the boundaries between art and fashion with its avant-garde creations.”
I love the simplicity of the cut, the way it hugs the body in the right places and the pattern of big, dark blue and maroon on white background. But what makes it really stand out from the crowd is the clever use of white lines to separate the coloured squares. They could have been left as they are but instead, peppered here and there are words, numbers and symbols - very innovative. The other great thing about it the dress is that you can wear almost any colour shoes with it. I was debating between white and red and ended up going with metallic red and purple strappy stilletos. I am a strong believer in that good shoes have the power to bring to life an outfit; no matter how expensive or beautiful your clothes are, wear the wrong shoes and you’ve blown it.
To complete the ensemble I added a purple Vivenne Westwood handbag I bought at Harrod’s. She is such an iconic women, I wish I could be like her.
Finally, a pop of red lipstick to tie it all together!
Dress: Martin Margiela
Shoes: from France
Bag: Vivenne Westwood
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