Coast to Coast in search of pretty evening, party and casual dresses and outfits

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