Going To The Ball

Inconceivable as it now seems, barely a decade ago ballgowns were big business. Big, that is, as in taking up an awful lot of space. Enormous constructions of taffeta, tulle and net, their skirts were often so monstrous they acted as giant brooms when the wearer swept into a room. Over-ruched as a pair of chintz curtains, their sleeves billowed out from absurdly padded shoulders while a few yards more of fabric would be swallowed up around the bodice. Colours tended to be from the lurid end of the spectrum with a particular fondness for bright red and gigantic prints featuring flowers unknown to any botanist.

Coupled with the era's equally big hair, the total effect now looks grotesque and hopelessly dated. The change in approach has been as radical as that 200 years ago, when the pannier skirts and towering wigs of the ancien regime were suddenly supplanted by simple shift dresses and naturally-dressed hair. The same is true of today's favourite style for eveningwear, as anyone who attended one of last weekend's charity balls in Dublin would have noticed. With scarcely a single exception, women at all these events now choose to wear variations of the sleeveless shift.

With this style, variety is something of a rarity. Black is the preferred colour and silk crepe the standard fabric. English designers such as Ben de Lisi and Amanda Wakeley are especially good at offering a fresh twist on the shift, but the truth is that a certain uniformity and want of imagination starts to become apparent whenever today's ballgoers gather. Silk jersey, particularly when employed by a master such as Ireland's Richard Lewis, looks a refreshing alternative and so too can bias-cut slips in satin-backed crepe. Over the weekend, a handful of women chose to diverge from the usual colour option and went for ivory or taupe, which looked especially well against lightly-tanned skin.

The reasons for the black shift dress's popularity are fairly obvious. Easy to wear and excellent at concealing any potential problem areas from bust to knee, it has a perfect neutral presence. In a room full of similar dresses, nobody is likely to notice if one particular piece has been already worn on several other occasions. Also, black is simple to accessorise and maintain - why else would the shade have remained so consistently popular among men? But after an evening in its company, the black shift dress looks deeply dull and safe. Almost anything other than a sleeveless strip of dark fabric would be more imaginative. Now seems the right time for a shift away from the shift. Is anyone ready yet to step out in a red taffeta skirt?