Put on your party dress

For this summer's series of charity balls, weddings and parties the dress code is: anything but a slip dress. What started as a refreshing alternative to the taffeta meringue dress of the previous decade has become the fashion cliche of the 1990s. Your biggest style slip of the year would be to wear one.

Instead, take a look at some of the individual evening pieces now available - dainty embroidered vests and tight-fitting cardigans, loose kimono-style devore jackets and generous skirts made fuller still by the addition of petticoats beneath - and create a look that suits you best. Keep everything light, both in colour and texture, for clothes and accessories alike. Shoes are either completely flat or else with low kitten heels; jewellery is floral and ultra-pretty; bags are decorated with lavish embroidery. The result is a style of gently nostalgic charm, reminiscent of the 1950s without owing too heavy a debt to that earlier era. A versatile and distinctive delight to wear - which is more than can be said for the slip dress.