My Favorite Dresses (for twirling & cocktails):

Twirling for the sake of twirling is a vastly underrated skill in the adult world. It doesn’t work into a bullet point on your resume, it won’t make you a more well-rounded student, and the movement itself completely deviates off the ‘grown-up-daily-grind’ path that reminds me of a twister game played on opposites day. You know, right foot on gas, right foot on brake, rinse, and repeat Commuter. Right hand on mouse, left hand on keyboard to answer one email and receive ten in response. Again, rinse and repeat.

What would your reaction be to the sight of someone in the lobby of a high rise at 8:58 a.m. taking a moment to stop, drop, and twirl? Would you just keep your eyes on your smart phone? I’ll answer for you with a, “yes.” It’s the latest in social avoidance, everyone’s doing it. Including myself.

So, I’m taking my stop/drop/twirl moment, shaking it up a bit, and pushing myself to drop the drone routine all while using my favorite cocktail dresses out there as inspiration. Bullet points, resumes, and ‘well-rounded’ are not what anyone would want to have as highlights in their obituary. I’d take, “she twirled through life,” over, “exceptional multi-tasker who was always on time,” any day of the week. Before I head off to my spinny moment, here’s the image that inspired it all:

Image courtesy of Harper’s Bazaar January 2010

And here my loves, is a list of my most favorite, favorite cocktail dresses at the moment. The list is always changing as items sell out and arrive, but for now, here in this very slice of time, is my list of the best dresses out there:

1. Vena Cava Lace Crepe Dress- $550 (www.saksfifthavenue.com) 2. Alexander Wang Stretch Jersey & Silk Chiffon Dress- $785 (www.net-a-porter.com) 3. Etoile Isabel Marant Tulip Burnout Cotton-Blend Dress- $360 (www.net-a-porter.com) 4. DVF ‘Revelry’ Dress in Paper Cheetah- $172 (www.dvf.com) 5. Red Valentino Ruffled Stretch-Jersey Dress- $485 (www.net-a-porter.com) 6. Catherine Malandrino V-Neck A line Pointelle Dress- $346.50 from $495 (www.bloomingdales.com) 7. BCBGMAXAZRIA Sleeveless Draped Dress- $119 from $238 (www.lordandtaylor.com) 8. Riller & Fount Babe Kimono Mini Dress- $142 (www.shopbop.com)

Love me a good cocktail dress (four years of mass communications evidently paid off in the grammar department). But that is not where my never-ending list of fashion favorites ends. Actually, this is the perfect jumping off point. See more of my edited picks (my loves, my faves, you get the picture) boiled down into an easy-to-digest, fashionable format.