KEY POINTS:
Enough with the frilly baby dolls, the busty empire lines, flirty disco wraps, the bows, the frills and the dressing up box. It's time for dresses to grow up.
The frock has been a firm wardrobe favourite everywhere for the past few seasons. Fashion writers have extolled its virtues saying it's a one-piece wonder.
But many of the little numbers they were talking about had distinctly child-like undertones. Blame it on a boho hangover but some of those cute little baby doll dresses were never going to rock a grown-up party.
This coming season, however, the one-piece wonder seems to have matured.
The shapes arriving in stores next month are more about shape, subtle colour, good cutting and good design. Enough with the flouncing froth, pinafores and girlie sundresses - we're talking shifts, smocks and clingy sweater dresses alongside artistic and interesting experiments in proportion and shape.
For those who are reluctant to bid farewell to the baby-doll shape do not fear. There's something for every body type among the new season's dresses.
THE SHIFT
Also known as a tunic dress. Easily the most wearable of the new batch of dress shapes, because, if it's well-cut and skims the figure perfectly - you'll need to try a few on - a shift or smock can be just as flattering as a baby-doll or empire-line silhouette. It's just that it looks like you're a classy wench off to an urban art gallery opening rather than a beach party on the set of The O.C.
There are lots of different kinds - from what looks like an over-sized V-neck jumper to cute, printed T-shirt dresses to shortened shirt waisters to more of a fitted 60s mini-dress. In keeping with the fashion directions that are hoisting skirts higher, the hemline is usually around mid-thigh or further up.
The shift dress is also highly adaptable. If you want to continue looking girlish and flirty throughout summer, wear it with bare legs or leggings and your shoe of choice. Everything from heels to sandals to ballet flats would do. But if, later on, you're feeling the cold, your age or the weight of prying eyes on your short, white legs, then chuck it on over long sleeves, jeans or thick tights. And for anyone who's despaired of ever getting into the skinny pants that have been so trendy lately, then a soft or fitted shift dress of some sort is perfect.
The key to the shift dress - and indeed, any outfit - is achieving balance. A high hemline with bare or dark, colour-clad legs and arms, elevated heels and a belt or other sort of sash around the middle or just under the bust like a DIY empire line are all potential methods of evening up the silhouette.
THE SMOCK
As the more expansive, statement-making version of the shift, these babies are a little trickier to wear. Mainly because they'll often contain more fabric and they'll burst forth from a lot higher up. The problem with this is that it can attract comments like, "When are you due?" and "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"
Of course, expectant mothers get to emulate Sofia Coppola in her elegant mother-to-be state. She got lots of credit from fash-mag hags overseas for wearing styly and expensive smock dresses throughout her pregnancy.
However, if you're not expecting and you'd like to avoid inappropriate questions, balance is, once again, key.
Unfortunately belts don't really work here - you'll look like you've got some odd puffy disease. Instead go seriously short with your smock, show us your long skinny legs - well, the bottom of them anyway - in black tights and high heels. Or your slender arms, either slinking out from under your smock in fitted black sleeves or bare and tanned.
THE EXPERIMENTAL
Designers everywhere have been getting tricky with their scissors. There seems to be a new desire to show off and experiment, inspired by wild, futuristic gowns from the likes of Balenciaga. This translates into a fair few dramatically different dresses - frocks with oversized puffed-up sleeves, mismatched panels of fabric, bubbling hems, unusual necklines and the continuation of the trend for that wretched puffball.
If you're the kind of person who would like to dabble in fashion's new arty, attention-getting look, then a dress is going to be the easiest way of doing this.
Think about it - if you buy some crazy skirt or mad top, it can be hard to know what to wear with it. Plain black skirt? Jeans? Whereas with a dress, you won't need to worry too much about what goes with it - except for appropriately wild footwear. The dress itself makes all the trendsetting statement you need.
THE SWEATER
This dress looks exactly as it sounds. It's an oversized sweater worn as a dress. And because of this, you'll probably want to save this look for winter.
On the plus side, this frock is hot - both literally and metaphorically because it's actually a sweater, and therefore probably made out of wool of some sort and going to keep you warm.
And because some of the best sweater dresses come skin tight, that makes this a rather sexy look, too.
If you're not going for the fitted sweater dress, you'll want to go for the shorter or more interesting. Because of the bulk of the warm fabric, you'll either need to show your legs or have this dress falling off a shoulder, like 80s-style gym gear.
Once again, you could layer with jeans, leggings, trousers or just go with opaque tights.
And, sex kittens, please note - if you're going to wear super-tight fine, glam jersey dresses, check that your undergarments are up to the job.
