Last week, quite a few of you asked in comments and off blog where I got the evening dress that I wore to my brother’s wedding dinner. Thanks so much for the affirmation that I got it right! LOL! To answer the question, no it was not custom made but bought off the rack – I know right! How often does an off the rack dress fit? In my case, hardly ever! But this did 🙂
I’m not overly fussed about people wearing the same clothes I do (well, so long as we don’t bump into each other at the same dinner in which case… erm… you’d have to change! LOL!) so I’m quite happy to tell you where to get it, and where too to start looking for evening or party dresses 🙂
The dress was from Coast, which is available at Robinsons (The Gardens). The design is the Savannah Maxi Dress in deep midnight blue heavy satin. Coast used to have their own standalone stores in various malls around town but they’ve all shut down now. The only place I know where I can still find their dresses is Robinsons. I hope it doesn’t close there or I’d be in a right fix!
Coast is a clothing brand from the UK that does mostly dressier dresses and separates. I first came across it in Singapore a few years ago and then was quite pleased that they opened here. I find it a very good place to start when shopping for evening dresses because they have a good selection of long gowns in various types of material, from satin to chiffon to jersey. The material is good and workmanship is pretty good too, which is very important for dresses like these.
They do short dresses too and separates – skirts and tops, cover ups, boleros… If you remember my furry sheepskin bolero, it was from Coast too (at a generous discount!). The downside to all that loveliness is price of course. The dresses are quite pricey locally. That said, I did a quick conversion from the UK prices and it really is quite close after conversion.
Some people may balk at paying the asking prices, because in many cases, we only really wear dresses like these once or twice. But if it is a really special event and you do happen to find something you like, that makes you look and feel like a million bucks, and you can afford it, I say go for it. Heaven knows, its so hard to find!
It was the same for me. I left dress shopping till a little late in the day. Wasn’t sure if I was going to have it custom made initially. So in a fit of panic, I went to the mall, hoping to check some dresses out. Started out at BCBG but their dresses looked weird on me, and were so long, I was drowned in cloth! So on a whim, I stepped into Robinsons, spotted this dress, tried it on, and the rest as they say, is history! Had a discount too, so that sweetened the deal further 😉
I went for a deep shade in a relatively classic design because I figured that it would be less memorable that a bright print or even a bright colour. This way, I hope to get more mileage out of it. Well, provided that when the time comes, I can still fit into it 😛 It nips in at the waist and hugs all the right places, and gives a gorgeous silhouette and with some ruching at the tummy area, hides a multitude of sins 😛
The upside is that they do go on sale. Once or twice a year, I see a big price slash and I usually stop by to take a look. Pick up a dress or a nice top. Some of the more casual dresses or shift dresses can actually be worn to work, if you don’t pick one in duchess satin or a dressy material. I have a bit of a problem fitting into many Coast designs because of my body shape so when I do find a piece that fits, I tend to pick it up… just in case 😀
I don’t have many pieces from Coast. I don’t do fancy dinners or events enough to merit owning many, but its always nice to browse and see what I can pick up during a sale 🙂 If you have a fancy event coming up, or a prom, you now know where to start looking 🙂
Do you have a store or brand recommendation for dressy outfits? Have you tried shopping at Coast too?
Paris B
I really LOVE the color of your dress! It brings out your fair complexion too! Score! Have never heard of this brand before, probably cos it’s not available here, but will surely give it a looksee if I have the opportunity to.
Thanks GT 🙂 I think its only available in KL for now. There were quite a few stores but they all closed one by one. Guess there isn’t a big market locally for party dresses. Its just in Robinsons for now (I think. Not sure about others like Debenhams)
Woohoo girl! You look AMAZING in that dress! So very Audrey! Suits you perfectly!
Just gorgeous!
Thank you so much Tracy! 😀 I was so surprised too when I zipped it up and it fell nicely into place! Naturally, had to buy it right? LOL!
Coast is always amongst the first shops I hit on Boxing Day as they do such lovely dresses that flatter my more than pudgy figure. =) Mum loves them too as they are elegant and extremely well made! Other than Coast, Karen Millen and Jaeger’s my other favourite brands as I prefer conservative, classic dresses!
Oooh lucky you to have access to their UK stores! They have so much more designs available there as opposed to here. I think their dresses are very well made and do flatter most. I have a bit of a problem because I’m less endowed on top and have a shorter top vs bottom so dresses sometimes don’t fit well. But overall, I think their dresses worth the money. I haven’t checked out Karen Millen so thanks for pointing me in that direction!
I’ve got the same problem as you do – short top long bottom but I find Coast / Debenham’s inhouse designer dresses suits me well! Do give Debenhams a go as they make affordable yet lovely dresses!
Debenhams is just reopening here soon I think. Once it does, I’ll go check them out, thanks!
oooh….i love Jaeger too!!
Wow! Their dresses are so pretty. Believe it or not, I actually never heard of them before. 😛
This must be why they closed down – lack of publicity! LOL But yes, they have pretty dresses and I always love checking out what they have even if I gag at the prices half of the time 😛
Lucky you …having access to Coast. I considered it but my only way of getting would have been via ASOS and couldn’t bring myself to pay that much without trying the dress on. Would you say that Coast sizing is true to size? I know Karen Millen sizes run horribly small! I also looked at Oasis and Fever London. They had pieces which were great for garden weddings.
I’d say it does run true to size, if you know your UK sizes. However, a lot also depends on your body shape. I have a problem with many of their dresses because I’m not as well endowed on top, and also my body is shorter on top so sometimes the dresses don’t fit well. Sometimes they do. So I’d say its a bit risky buying online considering the asking prices. Perhaps if you come up to KL some day, you can check them out in person and have a better idea so you can then buy online should the fancy fit! 😉
Babe, u look stunning! Whats the price for that piece? I like short dresses..
Thanks Shija 🙂 Short dresses are something like RM500 and up and long dresses start from RM900 depending on material, based on my memory, unless you get them on sale. I’ve seen them go for 70% off but then usually the designs are the less popular ones or are the larger sizes 😀
That’s a beautiful dress you wore to your brother’s wedding. I’ll be honest; when I saw that post, I started thinking about what I would wear to Ah Boy’s wedding, when he does get married some time down the road. I think I would choose something like that too 🙂
Thanks Tine! Its never too early to be prepared. It helps to have an idea of what you want – makes it easier to look for a dress. I only knew I wanted something long. And that was actually quite hard too because then you have no clear idea in your head of what you want to wear so its harder to start looking.
Lovely lovely lovely! Like the dress so much, everything fits – maxi dress, deep midnight blue, heavy satin! I’ve only walked past their store and never tried on any dresses due to their err, heavy price tag 🙂 The closest design of a dress that I liked was from Dressing Room, the online store you once reviewed. However, because I have wide hips, I am careful not to buy clothes which I have not/could not try.
Karen Millen and BCBG have very nice dresses too. Like you said, if there’s a special occassion, the splurge is worthwhile more so at the 13th hour or if it fits you nicely with a discount to boot 😉
Aww thank you Jennifer! I know what you mean. Its sometimes so hard to step into these stores right? Most of the time, they are empty and the SA follows you everywhere! But when I was in BCBG, the SA was quite nice, and even told me to try on their stuff so I guess it depends. The designs at the Dressing Room are nice but it is a bit iffy buying online, I’ve found. It always sucks when it arrives and its not quite what I was expecting 😛 I haven’t really checked out Karen Millen (their prices are jaw dropping too I’m told!) and I recently checked out BCBG but their dresses fitted weirdly on me. There was a lot of excess cloth and I couldn’t figure out why 😛
Never heard of the Coast. Will take a stroll if I happen to be at Robinsons 😀
Thanks so much for sharing! 😀 Yay yay! Yay yay! 😛
Now you know where to look for pretty dresses… never know when it comes in handy! 😉
The dress is absolutely lovely on you and fits so perfectly. Navy blue is one of my favourite colours to wear too. I used to get many dresses from Principles but I think they have pulled out of our local market (?). I like Karen Millen and BCBG but it can sometimes be a challenge to find my size here.
But you know what? I used to find Sungai Wang Plaza one of the best places to shop for evening dresses. There were so many little boutiques in there and you should find a gem every once a while. The prices were pretty reasonable too. It’s been years since I’ve last been there dress shopping though.
Thanks Lyn 🙂 I haven’t checked out Karen Millen but I will want to. I reckon the mid year sales will be a good time to take a peep 😉 I can’t seem to wear BCBG though. Their designs fit my strangely. I know what you mean about looking in Sg. Wang. There are lots of gems in there provided one has the time to slowly sift through the wheat from the chaff. Problem there also is sometimes the expectation to bargain and that really wears me down which is why I usually prefer going to a department store – pricier but at least the prices are fixed and unless I miss a sale period, I know that I’ve got it at the best possible price LOL! Yeah I know its a bit of a weird reasoning 😛
You look amazing!!! Love that dress on you. You look like you’ve just stepped out of Breakfast at Tiffany’s. 🙂
What a compliment! Thank you Nadia! 😀
I have said it before but I gotta say it again! This dress is perfect for u! Aren’t surprise that people said it is custom made! Lol.
I love flowy dresses! But always ended up buying at knee length because long dress makes me visually short =(
Thank you Gin 😀 I usually don’t do maxi dresses too but what I’ve learnt from trying on loads of dresses is that if you want to go long, make sure its fitted or cut slim. That way, there is an illusion of length and height. If there’s too much cloth, it can drown you 🙂
Ooo I see!! Thanks for the tips Paris!! Haha, all that I knew is people always says: pair w a pair of heels and u can go long!
Having said that, I usually avoid slim cut… Big tummy will be revealed!!! Haha, hence high waist A line become my friend… I hope I can try a fitting maxi one day though… if I get to cut my tummy’s fat >.<
A well cut dress will hide all sins! I don’t do figure hugging ones like those bandage dresses. Too much will bulge lol! But a material like satin can be forgiving too 🙂
Love the midnight blue shade. You look very elegant in the dress. Would keep in mind to check out Robinsons if I need to go gown shopping. 🙂
Thank you! It is surely a good place to start at any rate 😀
I wouldn’t know what Coast is… haha. But when I was picking my dinner dress for last year’s company dinner, I didn’t think of going to any brand that I know of. I simply went shopping, walking around. And then I saw this little niche store (those kind that bring in only one piece of S, M, and L, and do their own merchandising overseas) that was displaying a bright, vermillion (orange red) toga dress in both knee length and full length. I thought, that was it, I am going for the knee length one.
Anyhow, I went in to try, and decided the full length is better. I got it at such a great price (in Singapore, dress like yours would push S$200) of only S$80. I still feel it is such a steal for under S$100. =D
That said, I find that there are more and more niche stores here in Singapore, where each piece is either locally designed or handpicked from overseas. And I like such stores because I trust handpicked much more. If I come across a shop I like, the merchandiser for that store probably has pretty much the same taste as me, and I know I can keep going back for more. Locally designed clothes actually have very high standards and are sold are really affordable prices for the unique designs. I am starting to learn not to look down on local design graduates. haha.
I think local designers have indeed improved tremendously. I usually go to Isetan here where they carry some local designers as well, and sometimes, as you have pointed out, prices can be much more competitive 🙂 These days, there are a lot of little boutiques around where they get their stock from Korea or Bangkok so its not hard to find affordable pretty dresses anymore. I sometimes find though that the quality isn’t what I’m looking for, or that the designs tend to be too young for me. But ultimately, I think its a question of personal preference too 🙂 I used to check out Coast in Singapore at Tangs and Robinsons and their store in Paragon during the GSS. My sis got a nice deal there before her wedding a few years ago too 🙂
woo hoo…i’m going to have to check out tangs etc! I hope the store has not closed down! I love your dress, btw! 🙂
I know for a fact that the Coast store at Paragon, Tangs and Robinsons in Singapore is still going strong! 🙂
Wow! This dress is very nice! I think you can get a lot of mileage on this one.
I like Coast too. I see them at robinsons and tangs in Singapore.
Thanks Shay, I do think so too, hence the choice of colour. It came in chilli red too which would have been way too eye catching and memorable 😀 I find the Coast store at Paragon has a larger selection so I used to start looking there, unless there was a special deal going on at Tangs or Robinsons in which case, I do know they can transfer stock 😉
Love the dress on you! I actually don’t own anything that’s not somewhere around knee-length, because anything longer/shorter just doesn’t feel right! My dressier dresses come from Karen Millen, though I did have to wait till they were on MAJOR sales. Otherwise it’s not a price tag I can easily afford 🙂
Thank you Sunny 🙂 With so many recs for Karen Millen, I’m going to have to take a look. I know they are a bit pricey, but there should be a sale coming up here soon 😉
For workwear or dressy casual, Dressing Paula!
Uhh… you lost me a little there, sorry! >.<
the dress looks so lovely on you!!! *having vision of what to wear on my wedding day….hahahaahhah! still a long way to go, but a girl can dream right? 😀
Thank you Alyssa 🙂 This is surely a classic that you could easily wear for your evening banquet! 😉 Its always good to know what you want for your wedding. Helps a lot when the time comes so you aren’t scrambling around 😉
I’ve already told you but have to say it again, I LOVE this dress on you.
Thank you Marina! 😀
What a beautiful dress 🙂 I usually balk at Coast’s prices too and I never seem to be able to get the dresses on special. I’ve gotten my dresses and work items at Dorothy Perkins because it’s the only place that fits me well and has a good price point.
Thank you Dom 🙂 I like shopping at Dorothy Perkins too, believe it or not. Some of their basics are pretty good and I’ve found that the British brands do pants best to fit my wide hips 😛 Their dresses are a bit hit or miss for me, but they do shirts and blouses well too!