How do I dress up for parties now?

“I have a cocktail/formal dress-up party to go to (yay) and I’m standing in the middle of my bedroom with everything I own piled at my feet (not yay). I haven’t paid attention to fashion since COVID and I don’t know what’s in style anymore. You pick up on these things when you’re out in the world, seeing people every day, but there are no fashion clues within my four walls. I don’t know about cuts, hems, shapes, skirt lengths, shoes, anything anymore.” — Flummoxed by a party invite

You’d think, Flummoxed, that writing a fashion and beauty advice column might mean I’m immune to the moment you describe, when you have pulled your closet out on the floor in a teary tornado trying to find something, anything, to wear. Well, you would be wrong. Back in the before times, I intended to buy one good, investment-priced going-out dress each year so I could rewear them confidently on rotation from here on in. That brilliant plan was rudely interrupted.

I found myself on the way to a (fully vaxxed-up) special party last weekend, the very first I’d attended since you-know-what, and I was as stumped and fretful as my girlfriends about what to wear. We did the usual text flurry, which was reassuring, knowing everyone else was also unsure. So I’m answering my own question here, as well as yours, Flummoxed.

I’ve been following the career of Jordan Stewart of Rvng Couture for the past couple of years. Her stunning evening wear looks have appeared on Keshia Chanté and Alessia Cara; she has been featured in Vogue; plus Rvng showed for its third season running in a virtual film presented at New York Fashion Week Spring 2022, a dreamy collection of red-carpet-ready, floating, candy-floss-coloured tulle gowns. Rvng seemed like an overnight sensation, as the brand was launched in 2018.

But I was wrong: Stewart has actually put in the years and the miles in the fashion business over the past 17 years, doing retail to wholesale “and everything in between,” she says, “before bringing my dream to reality.” She learned to sew from her mother, who learned to sew from her mother: “My grandmother was a dressmaker back in Glasgow,” she says. “She worked for Singer.”

I was wrong also about the name. I had been saying Rvng wrong: “It stands for revenge,” says Stewart, and I liked her immediately for that. There are both made-to-measure and ready-to-wear components of her line, and the RTW now boasts sales showrooms in New York and Beverly Hills. (There are some big deals on the horizon that came out of fashion week, but Stewart isn’t quite cleared to announce them yet.)

Her gowns are showstoppers, so I thought Stewart could help us all figure out what to wear for big nights out. In another twist, it turns out that she is a mom of four young kids living in rural Ontario, Norfolk County, designing on her dining room table! This combo makes her appealingly relatable, and she truly lives the slow fashion movement. Even while selling internationally, she is working on manufacturing locally and tackling sustainability issues in production.

“Right now, I think we are in a transition period,” she says. “We’re moving into the next era. Proper daywear will definitely play a major role again soon. We get an opportunity to dream up a new future: galas and events are going to be bigger, more extravagant than ever.”

As we’ve seen on the red carpet, dressing up is back big time for celebrities. That means we, the little people, will soon be going all out with the frills and ruffles — which is at the heart of Rvng style and is part of what has made it skyrocket in the past couple of years, pandemic be damned. “Any red carpet project we’ve worked on, or that is coming up, stars are looking for the biggest, most lavish, sparkly gown they can get their hands on. They tell me they have really missed dressing up and are going to do it all in one day,” says Stewart.

So what can we take away from the runway and red carpet to help with our own dress-up plans? “Take all the fantastic colour and texture happening on these gowns and incorporate a piece of it into your outfit,” Stewart says. She recalls the hundred hours she spent hand-sewing pearls onto a custom gown. “What you can take from that is to bring pearls into your world. You don’t need to do a full pearl-encrusted gown, but you can extract details”: in a necklace, earrings, pearl trim.

“If you see sorbet colours on the runway, you can incorporate that trend into your look; it will make you feel modern and special.” Rvng featured gowns in hot pink and pale peach, bright orange, celery green, lime and lavender: all colour inspo we can pull right now for fall going-out outfits. “If a lime dress is too much,” she says, “pair a lime top with black trousers.”

As for texture, she points to all the tulle and organza in fantasy gowns in her spring show and voluminous ruffled blouses. “If a full gown is too much for your party, try instead an organza blouse. I love a ruffle or a French inspiration in a blouse that can elevate the whole outfit to feel more special, more ‘going out’-worthy for any event.”

For every collection, Stewart always includes her signature midi-length wrap dress, in a thick silk satin and in an array of rich jewel-toned hues, which seems to me like the perfect solution for a wide variety of events and body types (she produces up to size 16). This is the perfect piece, and the one I covet, because you would never be overdressed or underdressed when wearing it. It is made to be reworn in perpetuity.

In this era when there are no longer overarching, prescriptive “trends” that everyone follows together at once, it can be intimidating to choose an outfit for a dress-up event. But Stewart’s overriding message is to stop worrying and go big, baby — volume, colour, embellishment, sparkle — and to own your look. Individuality is what is in fashion right now. Look at that as a licence to let your inner child loose. Because living well is always the best revenge.

Shop the advice

We haven’t been able to gawk at street style for a long time, so if you have a party to prep for and are unsure what direction to go in, take some inspiration from the runways and red carpets and choose memorable colours and textures and special details.

Rvng dress, $750, rvng.ca

This is a signature Rvng piece, and versions appear in every collection. This would be an easy, elegant solution to almost any fancy event, and its timeless nature make it great for rewearing for decades to come. Up to size 16.

Oak and Fort blouse, $48, ca.oakandfort.com

Add a little ruffle to the party with a sheer blouse: Change it up with a meant-to-be-seen bra or a camisole, depending on the occasion. The ruffles will make you feel party-ready.

En Saison dress, $128, thebay.com

This party dress hits all the fun notes: bold, playful colour, exaggerated volume and a ruffled neckline.

Zara blouse, $50, zara.com

This blouse adds volume and swish with its ruffled arms. Easy to pair with black trousers for a polished and appropriate look with individual flair.

Mejuri earrings, $235, mejuri.com

Sometimes it’s the little things that make your outfit feel special: If a full pearl-encrusted ball gown is out of your reach, opt for a classic pair of drop pearl earrings.

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