NES Picks Her Top 8 Dream Party Dresses

As we all know, December should really be renamed 'Month Of A Million Parties' and as such is all about the show stopping dress. So in the name of research, I've pored over countless fashion magazines and blogs and websites and random people in the street and compiled my Top 8 Dream Dresses. Y'know, the ones with the price tag that takes your breath away and makes you cry for a million pounds to magically land in your account just so you could have all of them because you can't possibly choose between them and the postman hates you because he has to deliver so many invitations to your house.

No? Just me then. Right. Well anyway, these dresses are the ones that if I could afford them, I'd have them. Even if it was only to do the housework in. I don't really get all that many invites to glitzy parties.

1. 'Carla' satin gown by Erdem




Words cannot express how much I NEED this dress. The effect of being covered up in an age when you can't move for over-tanned plastics falling out of a 3 inch scrap of cloth masquerading as a dress is phenomenal. If you swept into a party (preferably down a sweeping staircase, accompanied by nothing except a discreet diamond laden bracelet, a martini and a cigarette in a holder) wearing this, it would afford you the sheen of femme fatale not seen since the 1930s. There would be swooning and wooing. Those are Good Things.

2. Floral Maxi Dress by Just Cavalli



Now, Roberto Cavalli isn't normally a designer who makes me want things that he has to offer, especially via the Just Cavalli diffusion line. But this, this is different. It's subtle. And pretty. And versatile in that 'can be worn at any point in the year' kind of way to any kind of event. Which would mean it justified its price tag on a cost per wear basis if nothing else.

3. 'Carmina' by Diane Von Furstenberg


How cute and fun is this?! When a lot of people go for black or other darker colours, this would make you pop at any party. Best accessorised with bare tanned legs and some fabulously golden or jewel coloured heels. And a beehive.

4. Hooded Sequin Dress by Alexander McQueen



Sequins! A hood! Long sleeves! Red! Black! Glamour! This is the Cruella De Vill of all the dresses. In fact, if I don't see a picture of Glenn Close wearing it, I'll be very disappointed.

5. Red Shift Dress by Valentino



This isn't the most obvious choice for a party dress. But that's the beauty of it. Red is a damn festive colour and a shift dress in this style is pure Joan Holloway. And what is more devastatingly sexy than that?

6. Strapless Silk Chiffon Gown by Marchesa



It's because of dresses like this that Marchesa is a Hollywood star favourite. The flowingness of the silk chiffon and the beading make it incredibly romantic but the colour gives it a bit of edge. I'd expect to see Eva Longoria-Parker or La Lopez rocking this one.

7. Drape Front Jersey Gown by Roberto Cavalli



Another Cavalli dress?! I know, I could hardly believe it myself but, well, just look at it. It's like the slightly more overt cousin of the Erdem dress. The cross front is very flattering and the diamante detail at the waist completes the old school glamour cocktail. This is a dress that demands Veronica Lake waves.

8. Ruffle Halter Gown by Valentino



This dress is simple but dramatic all at the same time. The colour makes it stand out more than it would in black. Of course, it also benefits from having a touch of the Audrey about it.

NES' Boot Quest: Flat Boots

I rather like flat boots. To me they seem so much more practical and subtly sexy compared to their somewhat in-your-face heeled compadres. They say "You know what, we may be flat but that means you won't slip over on slush/ice in front of that really hot guy who catches your train/bus/tube in the morning. And you know what else? He'll still be checking out your leather clad legs and thinking inappropriate before the watershed thoughts. And you'll be comfortable. What more do you want?"

Well exactly. What more do you want? Oh, maybe all of these please....

'Manfred' by Faith
See? They even have dependable names!



This particular Manfred is a rather simple riding boot. And is all the more lovely for it. He's multi-functional too - dresses, skirts, skinny jeans, leggings (if you must) - he'll cover all of them. And what price such versatility? Why only £90 which is Not Bad At All.

'Callous Stud' by Office
Now I don't know if they intend it to be called 'Callous Stud' but doesn't it sound very Jackie Collins? And that, reader, can only be A Good Thing.


The current vogue for studs will more than likely be dead by the time you read this but on these boots, they're understated enough to provide a bit of interest and a mild rock chick edge. At £115, they're not cheap but would never go out of fashion.

'Banner' Biker Boot by Office



Another boot from Office, this time a bit more biker but with the features of buckles and straps. It looks sturdy but sexy, non? And you can make it as tough or as feminine as you like. I'm seeing it in a haze of grungy 90s glory with a silk slip, floral dress, brushed cotton plaid shirt and chunky hat and scarf. All for the rather bargainous £85.

'Cate' by Christian Loutboutin
You didn't think I'd have done a trawl without finding some beautiful Louboutins did you? Why of course not!


And the beauty of these is the simplicity and concealed wedge heel. Worth the investment and care because these are what your gran would call "Timeless" and "Classic" and do you know what? We should all take more notice of what our grans say when it comes to Stuff Like Fashion. How much of an investment though? *whispers* £845. Wowee.

NES And The Quest For The Perfect Pair Of Boots

Dear reader, it's the same every year. The weather starts turning a little chilly, August suddenly becomes Winter and I still will not have found a decent pair of winter boots.

In my head, I like to think that I'll do it differently next year. Perhaps be super organised and get the perfect pair in the January sales so they're ready and waiting for when the leaves start falling off the trees. But no, because if I waited until the sales then the perfect boot would already have gone and then I'd have to go through the same tribulations and heartache all over again anyway.

So, seeing as the very lovely Alex pointed out this morning that we're already half way through October, I've decided I best get a shift on. Meaning that I'll be scouring THE WORLD* in my quest and sharing the fruits of my labour with you because you are lovely and you obviously appreciate good shoes and boots.

If you see anything you think worthy of note, let me know!

* Obviously when I say 'THE WORLD', I mean a whole bunch o'websites and not an actual physical jaunt around the world though if someone would like to fly me to New York, that'd be fantastique!

NES x x x

America's Next Top Model Season 12 Episode 4:

Natalie has set herself up as being the bestest model evah. Which is of course annoying the other girls.

Time for Runway 101 with Miz J. who was rocking a finishing school look.

Allison's walk was abysmal and she was given the book on head trick and told to get home and practice. Miz J brought in Bianca and Chantal from Season 9 to show how it should be done. Is it bad I couldn't remember them at all?

Truth or Dare? How deliciously high school! Nijah does a good Carlton dance. Natalie offends Tahlia which seems to be a pretty easy thing to do.

Teyona got re-madeover before joing the girls to walk for Jill Stuart. In front of Ann Shoket from Seventeen - who seems to being introduced earlier and earlier as each season passes.

Natalie did a weird turn in the middle. Nijah and Tahlia got headshakes from Miz J.

Poor Allison just looked terrified but in the end won people over. Fo did a good walk and had taken Miz J's advice.

The winner was Natalie who won some clothes from Jill Stuart despite her turn.

This week's photoshoot was on a tourbus going round NYC. Fo and Aminat were Wall St bitches and absolutely fab together.

Kortnie and Nijah were supposed to be Soho artists. Kortnie was looking rather lovely. But Nijah was dead in the eyes again.

Sandra and Celia were Upper Eastside nannies while Allison and London got to be the Gossip Girl/Olivia Palermo socialites.

Natalie, Teyona and Tahlia were tourists in Times Square with Tahlia leading the way. Mr Jay isn't convinced by Natalie.

Time for judging.

Kortnie and Nijah were up first. And didn't get it - mainly thanks to Nijah's meh.

Fo and Aminat - Fab!

Celia and Sandra - Sandra stands out but Celia also looks good.

Tahlia, Teyona and Natalie - Tahlia looked great and lit up the picture. Teyona has a lot of teeth!

Allison and London - Not a good shot really...

Best photo was Sandra.


Then Aminat.



Then Tahlia.



Bottom two: Allison and Nijah. With Nijah going. Nijah doesn't SMILE WITH HER EYES which is pretty much one of the worst things you could ever do. Like ever. Really.

Next week, the fabulous whirlwind of fierce, Benny Ninja. Pretty.

America's Next Top Model Season 12 Episode 3: Makeover Dramarama!

It is what should be, in my opinion, THE best and most important episode of the series.

Makeover Dramarama. Hair, tears, tantrums, Mr Jay holding back on the "Bitch, please!"

Eeee! Crazy Charlie's Angels/spy intro! Femmtalian? What IS that?! For Fierce Eyes Only? MI6 wish they were as fabulous as that.

Sandra's been bleached and looks a bit like Amber Rose.

WHAT DID YOU DO TO ALLISON??????? They turned her into a crazy ass Barbie.

Fo has been pixied and looks even more fabulous and storms to the top of my favourite list.

Celia starts crying but her new short do looks "fashion".

Aminat finds her afro weave being modelled as a shrug by Miz J - they can watch and learn from him hi-jinxing around. She's not best pleased though.

London has been Aggy'd

Natalie started crying and fussing and then NOTHING happened to her which prompted a bit of jealousy.

Mainly from Fo who keeps crying. Oh Fo, this is not attractive honey. Stop it.

Jessica is so full of herself that a fall is not far away.....

Anyway so the first Cover Girl challenge to go out onto the mean streets of NYC in teams to get girls to buy into the Cover Girl thing and model for them.

Team 1 consisting of Celia, Aminat and Sandra won even though Sandra hardly said anything.

"Keep it cute or keep it on mute" - Fabulous. Love Aminat.

On to the photoshoot then with.... NIGEL!!!!! Noted Fashion Photographer and The Sex!

So the shoot is about finding the light with a bit of a rock chic edge with the girls directing themselves and holding their own lights. Which should be interesting.

Nijah was dead in the eyes.

Celia started upstaging Aminat. Kortnie failed a wee bit and on the whole completely underwhelmed Nigel.

London and Teyona pulled it off. Fo is being intimidated by her hair. LET IT GO!

Nolé Marin is back!!! LOVE it! But.... could maybe.... Janice... No, don't think about it... you'll only be disappointed.

Fo is up first and HHPOF! brings back the point that if a girl gets her hair lopped off, it's because she has great bone structure. Her picture was good though her attitude was a big turn off.

Nijah looked awful and wasn't SMILING WITH HER EYES! Seriously, has she NEVER seen ANTM before?!? HHPOF! commented it was almost like she'd never heard it before and seemed a bit disgusted at the failure to follow what should surely be the first thing you ever learn.

Allison - fabulous. Nolé loved her. I love her.

Sandra lacked tension. Which prompted a lesson in tension from HHPOF! These little lessons are priceless. Suck up the knowledge.

Celia is FIIIIEEEEERRRRRCCCCEEEEE! She's like a less fabulous Lel.

Jessica looked wrong in her picture - almost ugly and non novella as Nolé put it.

Natalie is wearing doilies according to Nolé who rounds on all of them for having no fashion sense whatsoever. Luckily her picture is great though.

HHPOF! is not happy with Teyona's hair but loved her picture. I'm not entirely sure why. It didn't look that great to me.

Aminat looked broken and didn't light herself properly at all.

Best picture of the week is Teyona.

Then Celia.

Then Allison.

Bottom two..... Fo (NO!) and Jessica.

Fo's tears have proven her downfall rather than her photo whereas Jessica isn't bringing the pretty to the photos and gets sent home.

HHPOF! drills into Fo that short means fabulous face.

So what have we learnt? That Makeover is less dramz filled than it used to be which sucks and that Nolé should be back for good. Possibly with Take That serenading him. He'd love that.

NES Recommends.... Emu Boots

When the very lovely people at Fitness Footwear sent me a very lovely email asking if I'd like a pair of Emu boots, I was worried at first that they were a) psychic or b) stalking me as not two days before, I had been very seriously contemplating buying a pair.

Luckily they saved me the hassle and a pair of Bronte boots (the high Chestnut style) were duly sent to me the day after.

And I've hardly taken them off since. It really is like walking around with your own personal carpet and they are neither too hot or too cold.

Emu boots also seem a lot studier than their flashier counterpart, Uggs and at half the price, they make a very attractive alternative.

I would recommend going up a size as they are fairly snug fitting but that just makes them all the more wearable, especially now winter is making its move.

Emu boots from Fitness Footwear start at £69.95 with free UK shipping