Nighttime is the Right Time; Evening Dresses

Karen Zambos Vintage Couture Strapless Metallic Dress gives you maximum length with minimum effort. The long dress is beautifully detailed, with accordion pleats in a floor-length knit, but somehow it maintains that beachy, California vibe, striking the perfect balance between formal and casual (fasual?!)--just what Friday night calls for. On a more Autumn-ish note, Lauren Moffatt's Ruffle Sweater Dress is the just the kind of girlish charm a sweater dress should have. This a-line, sleeveless number looks great with opaque tights and a pair of motorcycle boots (stay tuned for Fall boot guide).

This season, plaid comes back like the Boston Red Sox (World Series anyone?), and Nanette Lepore's Boat Neck Plaid Mini Dress is the perfect update to the age-old pattern. Worn with boots or heels, the message is clear: you're low-maintenance, high-fashion, and completely adorable. And you know how those jersey cotton sheets feel like your favorite tee? KZ JerZey VNeck Mini is the equivalent in dress form. In four shades you can't go wrong, and there is something extremely, and understatedly, sexy about wearing a t-shirt dress.

Ready to turn it up a notch? Dina Bar-el raises the stakes with her Sexy Fit Cocktail Dress. The fit is, um, sexy (duh) and the colors are fabulous, promising to turn him a shade of green as you're walking out the door for the evening. The Stretch Satin Cocktail Dress from the same designer is a classy length, but the body-conscious cut highlights your curves sinfully.

Simple doesn't mean boring, and Laura Dahl's Billie Dress in Quail proves that theory. Maybe it's the color, or the way it accentuates your cleavage without looking vulgar, but something about this dress makes it stand head and shoulders above the ones that are impossibly fancy-pants, overly-detailed, super-bright, ruffled, cinched...you get the idea. The pleated bodice and v-back are just enough to set this one apart as a true stunner.

So, pants and cute top, we love you. We even call you our uniform. But sometimes, and not just in summer time, we just need to get dressed up.

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