Gown Designer Perspective: Ways to get on this season's beat dress list

A woman constantly strives to look her best. The magazines rack overflow with each month's copies of Elle, Vogue, Marie Clare.

Admittedly, our culture is extremely fashion conscious. Trends and fads come and go and come back years later with updated fabrics and designs.

But the question is if want to be on the best dressed list, how do you get there? How do you earn those compliments and grab the attention at your awards ceremony, fundraiser, pageant or social function?

There are several ways.

First, you should know that being on the best dressed list is about finding styles and looks that are perfect for you. You have personal style and you want to feel comfortable in the clothes you wear, otherwise you'll wear them once and never again.

Whatever you wear should always compliment you, even in the most subtlest of ways. Like diamond in its setting or a picture in a fine frame, you want the clothes you wear to enhance your look in every way.

Especially an evening gown.

Now once you have that figured out, it's time to subscribe to those fashion magazines. And read them and study them. Take out the pictures that appeal to you, and see if you can try the gown on locally.

The second thing you might to consider is hiring an image consultant or a gown designer. Not actually have the person design a gown for you, but maybe to just offer some guidance and advice as to what kind of gown would look best on you.

You can go into a store that carries evening gowns and dresses and see what the boutique owners have to say. You'll find them extremely helpful, because usually they are acutely aware of the trends and have an innate sense of fashion. A few have been trained as fashion designers themselves.

In other words, when choosing just the right evening gown for that big night, sometimes requires a second opinion. But you want the opinion from someone you can trust and who understands fashion, design and fitting.

If you want learn more about being on this season's best dressed list and selecting just the right evening gown or designer dress, visit www.MaisonSaintMarie.com