There's a reason elegant black evening dresses have dominated formal events for the past century. But 'black is always appropriate' has become such a comfortable cliché that people have started treating it as…

I spent years assuming that long sleeve evening dresses were a compromise. Coverage at the expense of silhouette. Then I attended a charity gala at the Art Institute of Chicago in December 2023…

A black-tie fundraiser in New York, February of last year. Two women arrived in cocktail dresses — both poised, both well-dressed, both clearly aware by hour two that something was wrong. By the…

I went to seven weddings last year. Different dress codes, different venues, different seasons. Of those seven, I wore a midi cocktail dress for a wedding guest to five of them. Not because…

I noticed it at a formal outdoor wedding in Savannah last spring. Two women in nearly identical midi evening dresses. Same general silhouette, similar fabric, both attending the same ceremony and reception. One…

A long white graduation dress works when the silhouette is clean, the fabric doesn’t bunch under a robe, and the hem is clearly either above or below the gown’s hem, not accidentally in…

You’ve probably heard that midi is the “safe” graduation length. And fine, that’s somewhat true — but only if you pick the right one. A midi that bunches under your robe, or hits…

Shoes first. That's the thing nobody tells you about styling midi formal dresses for women. Not the silhouette — the shoe. The mid-calf hemline changes entirely depending on what you're wearing on your…

Modest white dresses for graduation cover two very different shopping situations. The first is modesty as a requirement — religious schools, conservative institutions, family traditions, or personal preference for coverage. The second is…

When the skin isn't doing the work, the fabric and the silhouette do everything. That's the operating principle behind elevated modest formal dresses — full coverage makes the quality of every other design…