Ball season trends

Images: Evan Rachel Wood, Sera Lilly one shoulder red dress, Ooby Ryn one shoulder dress

One shoulder and asymmetrical gowns have been big on the red carpet this year. Evan Rachel Wood wore this look well at the Oscars. Locally, I love Sera Lilly’s gorgeous new winter range, which features various interpretations of the one-shoulder trend, on both long flowing gowns and cute cocktail dresses. In particular, I love this cocktail dress, which combines the asymmetrical look with this season’s other big trend, jewel tones. Ooby Ryn’s ‘Dr Zhivago’ collection also contains this fabulous one-shoulder ‘Lara’ dress which I love.

Image: Juliette Hogan dress

Basic black takes a back seat this year to bright, jewel-tone gowns. Bright colours have been big with celebrities this year, such as deep ruby reds, royal purples and emerald greens. This is such a great trend if you want to stand out from the crowd, and different tones complement different skin tones. Pinks and reds look beautiful on paler skin, while deep purples, blues and greens look lovely on olive and darker complexions. This cute royal blue dress from Juliette Hogan showcases this trend well.

Images: Kate Sylvester dress, Cybele dress

Ruffles are big this year and lot of celebrities have been wearing over the top, ruffled gowns. Kate Sylvester’s baby pink ruffled gown illustrates this trend. If this isn’t for you, try wearing a dress with a simple embellishment such as this each dress from Cybele’s Winter 2010 collection. A lot of celebrities have been wearing over the top, ruffled gowns but if this isn’t for you then there are so many other options.

Images: Cameron Diaz, Sheryl May dress

This look was huge at the Oscars this year, and is one of my personal favourites, as it is suits so many skin tones and hair colours. Sandra Bullock and Cameron Diaz both pulled this look off amazingly on the red carpet. Metallics look great in silver and gold tones, but there are also some black metallic dresses this winter which look beautiful, and provide a twist on the basic black dress. This Sheryl May ‘Alianza Amethyst’ black metallic dress is a great example of this.

Images: Anna Kendrick, Sera Lilly pastel gown,

Neutral and pastel tones have been a big trend, coming through in a variety of clothing styles this winter. This look can translate well into formal wear, and is a soft and pretty look. Twilight star Anna Kendrick wore a beautiful pastel pink gown, and Sera Lilly has interpreted this trend in her pastel blue gown with bow accent.

Images: Pandora earrings and stacker rings and Kagi necklace

Formal wear is not complete without jewellery, and this year there are so many styles and trends to choose from. A pair of simple, silver drop earrings always looks elegant, like these ones from Pandora. Silver compliments pastel tones well, whereas some jewel toned dresses look striking with gold jewellery. Ruby red will look fantastic with gold. Or, if you decide to wear the wardrobe staple, the basic black dress, try accentuating your outfit with jewellery that stands out. I love the Pandora stacker rings, which come in gold or silver, and are off-set with amazing coloured stones, such as green peridot, amethyst, red and blue topaz and smoky quartz. View the full collection here. Kagi’s new collection also has some beautiful pieces that are the perfect match for any occasion.