My Ideal Wedding Outfit For The Change Of Season

What to do when the weather’s turned chilly, you have your cousin’s wedding coming up and not a thing in your wardrobe is calling to you? Hit the mid-season sales, of course. Which is how I came to find the perfect trans-seasonal wedding outfit – this rather fabulous White Suede dress.

Let’s face it – who wants to spoil the effect of that frock you’ve just splurged on by covering it up with a ho-hum jacket? More often than not, that statement dress looks best on its own. Which is why long sleeves are every girl’s best friend come the change of season. No blazer/trench required. In this case, the geometric cut-outs at the décolletage and upper arms add a level of intrigue, a hit of skin that is at once sensual and modest. I love the attention to detail, too – the delicate eyelets lining the sleeves, the two pearlescent button fastenings at the top of the neck, the subtle black seams running through the skirt. The linen blend fabric is beautifully tactile and has enough heft to stand up to those pesky autumn breezes. I turned up to my cousin’s wedding feeling like a million bucks and got a ton of comments. Win!

But the time came, inevitably, to move my arms. The slightly flared sleeves looked excellent until the moment I attempted to swill a glass of champagne, at which point they decided to bunch up. No stern words could convince them otherwise. But who ever said that style and freedom of movement went hand-in-hand? I committed to moving my arms as little as possible and managed to have a brilliant time with my hands plastered subtly against my sides. This was so brutally effective at limiting the booze I consumed that when the time came to dance I could really let loose, confident in the knowledge that everyone else was too drunk to notice the atrocities happening south of my elbows. Win, win.

Before the sun set splendidly across the ocean, I’d paired the dress with my trusty Prada sunnies. They’re at least as uplifting as a great red lipstick (I wear YSL Rouge Pur Couture No. 1), with the added bonus of not smearing across your chin if you tuck into, say, a wagyu and gruyere slider. The speckled dusky pinks and browns of the classic D-frame picked up the muted florals of the dress perfectly. It’s actually quite astonishing the number of outfits these sunglasses make sing. In terms of cost per wear, they’re without a doubt one of the best investments I’ve ever made. The only problem, actually, is prying them from my face. When finally I did, I was confident in the knowledge that these gold drop earrings from Parisian jeweller Cecile Jean (the tiny boutique in the Marais is seriously worth a visit) would continue kicking accessory goals for me instead.

To finish off the outfit, I busted out my favourite Valentino Rockstud pumps, which frankly I wear a little too often. In this case, though, the patent tomato red really lifted the whole ensemble and went brilliantly with my bold lip. Given that a woman’s toes, anatomically speaking, were never meant to be coaxed into sharp triangles, these heels are surprisingly comfortable and survived a few rounds on the dance floor admirably well. Fine gold rings from Gag & Lou (another Parisian gem) and a geometric chain strap bag that a dear friend brought me back from Hong Kong – à la Issey Miyake’s Bao Bao – completed my perfect autumn wedding outfit.