Women's Special Occasion Dresses

Special Occasions

You may need to buy fancy dresses for occasions such as:

• Weddings
• Charity balls
• Debutante balls
• Proms
• Cocktail parties
• After-five events
• Quinceañera parties

One of the biggest events in any woman’s life is her wedding day. However, special occasion dresses will not only be required for the bride, but also for her attendants, the bride’s mother and the groom’s mother. A wedding is an event where people expect to dress up and look their best. For other occasions, you sometimes have a choice of formal or semi-formal dresses. If you’re invited to a party, look at the invitation to see if a dress code is specified.

• Formal: While many women identify formal wear with long gowns only, current style rules dictate that knee-length dresses are also acceptable. A lot of what you wear to a formal event will depend on the venue and time of day.
• Semi-formal: A knee-length dress is sufficient for a semi-formal occasion.
• Cocktail: You can wear a knee-length dress or skirt ensemble for a cocktail party.

Styles of Women's Special Occasion Dresses

Once you know where you’re going, you have the option to shop if you don’t already own something suitable. Even if you do, shopping for dresses that you don’t get to wear all the time is usually fun. Typically, special occasion dresses are made in materials that aren’t your everyday fabric. Silk, chiffon, satin and taffeta are more common in formal and semi-formal wear. In addition, you’ll find embellishments like sequins and beads, little extras that you wouldn’t wear to the office. Some styles of special occasion dresses include:

• Little black dress: Every woman needs a little black dress in her closet. Black is a great color for most fancy functions. In this category, you have many options that fit every shape, age and budget. A JS Boutique belted dress features an organza overlay that gives the illusion of sheerness all over. If long and sleek is more your style, try a strapless gown that will look great at a charity ball or prom.
• Bridesmaid gowns: Bridesmaids have much better options these days. Instead of those stiff confections that were promptly trashed or hidden in the back of a closet, a woman standing up for her good friend can look stunning in a strapless, chiffon A-line dress, which is available in just about any color a bride chooses for her wedding.
• Mother of the bride/groom: When your son or daughter gets married, you want to look elegant and sophisticated, but you don’t have to look matronly. Mother of the bride or groom dresses are available in all kinds of styles, whether you prefer something more demure or something dramatic.
• Cocktail: For cocktail parties and after-five events, you can choose a simply elegant dress like a Tadashi ocean blue dress or a halter-tied beaded number.

Where to Buy

Special occasion attire can be found at a large number of women’s wear retailers. This can be your favorite department store, specialty boutique, vintage shop or even online. Places to check out for women's special occasion dresses include:

• Dillard’s
• Simply Dresses
• Magic Moments
• Bridal shops
• Belk
• JCPenney
• Only Gowns
• e dress me

Accessorize it Right

When selecting shoes, handbags and jewelry to match your special occasion dress, remember that your accessories should match your dress in tone, but not compete with it. If you wear a dress with a lot of embellishments, a less decorated purse is a better match; on the other hand, if your dress is sleek and simple, bold jewelry will keep you from looking too plain.

Whatever the occasion, enjoy it, especially if you rarely get a chance to pull out all the stops to look your best.