This 'Athena' dress from the Twenty8Twelve autumn/winter '09 collection scared me when I first saw it on the hanger in the showroom way back in February... We almost didn't buy it.The ruched sides and sheerish fabric said: this dress will only look amazing on the person who dreamt it up, ie Sienna Miller. But actually, it's the elements you THINK would be the reason you wouldn't go there, that turn out to be what make make this dress so good...
Allow me to explain. The clingy ruching down the sides turn body-con into body-yeah man, I can get away with this. Because it's tight and sexy but the gathered 'framework' provides a bit of looseness around the edges - you get me?
The round, scooped neck appears low but can be shuntered* into place to go higher depending on your height. However, what's really important about this dress is that the shoulders and arms are completely covered. When you're going this short you don't want any more flesh on show elsewhere - particularly up top. (And on nice girls naked shoulders are far more provocative than acres of cleavage.) Just ask a cool boy... So the full-sleeve we see here is an ideal compensation to the bum-skimming length.
Final point: the overall structure is VERY Balmain. I rest my case.
*shuntered, to shunter, shuntering - a made-up word to describe the process of rearranging the necklines, hems, sleeves etc of close-fitting items of clothing to achieve the desired look. Involves pulling and twisting in different directions. Not to be confused with another made-up verb 'hoik' which is uniquely reserved for tights maintenance and an action that only ever goes one way: up.
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