Occasion Wear- What to wear and Where to shop

Let me guess, you get that invitation through the door and the first thing you think, what am I going to wear! You see ‘formal wear’ and you panic, well let’s break this down for you as dressing for an occasion should not be stressful, in fact it should be a treat to get dressed up and step away from your everyday life.

I am Laura Byrne and I am a personal stylist from Co Armagh. I have spent the last number of years styling women all across Ireland, not only for special occasions but also helping build them a functional wardrobe of everyday clothes to suit their lifestyle. Today I want to talk you through some of my tips when shopping for occasion wear.

First of all, lets talk about what to wear.  Put a little bit of thought into this before you actually go shopping.  Maybe you want your arms covered, maybe you don’t want your legs on show or maybe you need something to flatter the tummy area.  Whatever your requirements, narrow it down so you know exactly what you are shopping for before you are standing in the actual shop panic buying (we’ve all been there).  Any good sales assistant will listen to your requests and hopefully show you suitable options to suit your requirements.

Dresses
Let’s start with the most obvious choice, dresses.  The good thing about wearing a dress is you have so much choice that will hopefully cover all of the requirements we mentioned above.  Try on lots of different options, including colours as this will help narrow down the search.

A Jumpsuit
A jumpsuit is a great option if you don’t like showing your legs.  You are dressed from head to toe, and sometimes a jumpsuit can be more flattering on your body shape than a dress.  
Just be mindful of the length and if you need to get the length altered, consider this cost into the price.

A Statement Suit
Never under estimate the power suit.  Now if you are someone in the corporate world, a suit for an occasion might be the last thing on your list but if not, definitely look into the option of a nice statement suit.  The great thing about a suit is you can re-wear after your occasion by mixing and matching the blazer and trousers separately to get multiple different outfits.

Accessorizing is key.  Maybe you are someone that likes to keep it really simple with your clothing.  You want to go for a plain black dress that is comfortable on your body.  Then why don’t you let your accessories do the talking?  Choosing a statement earring or finishing off the look with a nice clutch bag or a statement shoe can completely elevate the simplest of outfits.  You are still super comfy in your plain black dress but the accessories are doing the talking.

Now, where to shop.  There are some beautiful occasion wear boutiques all across Northern Ireland offering occasion wear to suit all budgets.  Here are a list of some of my favourites:

Ivy Lane || Clothing, Footwear & Accessories (@ivy_laneclothing) 

Based in the Buttercrane Shopping Centre, Newry
Boutique Clothing Store | Women's Clothing | Cameo Boutique, NI & UK (cameoboutiqueni.com)
Based in Doagh, Ballyclare but also available online
Blush Boutique - Women's Designer Clothing & Bridal Bouti..
Based on Lisburn Road, Belfast but also available online

Lastly, let me suggest the option of hiring your outfit for your occasion.  You may have heard the term ‘cost per wear’.  For example, if you buy a top at £100 and wear it 10 times, the cost per wear is £10 and so on but if you buy a dress for an occasion at £100, ask yourself how many times you will wear that dress and work out the cost per wear.  

Hiring occasion wear is becoming more and more popular and over the next few years, I think there will be even more choices out there.  At the moment, I feel the hire options definitely need to be more size inclusive but I would strongly advice you to look into this option, especially if you are someone that doesn’t think they will get a second or third wear out of their occasion wear.

Here are a few dress hire businesses that I highly recommend:
Wear Once Loved - Designer Dress Hire Based in Newry but available to hire online
Designer Dress Hire | Willow Collective Based outside Newry
Shelly’s Dress Hire (@shellys_dress_hire)  Based in Rostrevor, Co Down

I hope this takes a little bit of stress out of the shopping experience next time you are shopping for an occasion. Who knows, maybe when the next invite comes through the door, you will be excited to have an excuse to get dressed up or look forward to getting another wear out of your occasion wear.

Keep up to date with Laura Jane Stylist on Instagram , Facebook and her Website