Hoco Dresses: The Short Dress Shortlist

Homecoming started as a football invitation. In 1911 the Missouri coach and athletic director Chester Brewer asked alumni to come home for the Kansas game, and more than 9,000 people showed up, which is why Mizzou still calls itself the home of the first homecoming. A century later the game is the least photographed part of the night, and the dress is the most.

 

That is the case for shine. A gym, a hallway and a phone flash are hard on matte fabric, and sequins and metal give the camera something to hold. The Bronx Banco Maraya in silver and the Ibiza Sequin Maraya in pale blue are the strapless versions I would start with, and the raspberry Maraya is the one for anyone who wants colour as well as sparkle. The Mother of All Ariel Sequins dress is cut out at the waist, the BARDOT Helene is burgundy velvet covered in sequins, and the Norma Kamali Diana is gold lamé, which reads as metal rather than glitter.

 

For a softer shine, the Zhivago Chryse 2 Way dress is rose gold, the PatBO Golden Dust plunge is lurex, and the self-portrait Rhinestone Mesh dress sparkles without a single sequin. Among the hoco dresses in this grid, the newest are the SIMKHAI Davina in sage, a softer metallic, the SIMONMILLER Fountain in pewter with curved slits at the hem, which catches a flash, the Runaway Sindy, a strapless sequin mini, and the SIMKHAI Darcie in gold and Sumi in pink. A good hoco dress is one that still looks good in a photo taken from a bad angle, so test it under your phone flash. The Elodie Camelia and Julia, the superdown Cindi and the Lovers and Friends Holly and Rossa are the simplest shapes in the grid, which helps if the shoes are doing a lot.

 

My test is to sit down in it. Sequins on a short strapless dress can ride up and scratch the inside of your arms, so lift your arms over your head in the fitting room and see what moves.

 

What I would skip: a sequin dress with a busy cut-out and a busy shoe. Choose one loud thing and let the dress be it.

The corset came back through a television show. When Bridgerton launched on Netflix, Lyst reported that online searches for corsets rose 23 percent in less than a week, and the fashion search site credits the show with the term Regencycore. Years later, the structured bodice is the most requested shape for a school dance, and for good reason: it holds itself up and needs nothing underneath.

 

The ELLIATT Lumira, Celeste and Galadirel strapless dresses are the clean versions, with boning that keeps the neckline straight. The self-portrait Taffeta Halterneck mini has more volume in the skirt, and the Bardot Deserae Halter Neck and Vega Strapless are the ones I would pick for someone who wants a fitted waist and a simple skirt. The Courtney Zheng Satin Bullet Bra dress is the most directional choice here, with a pointed cup in pink satin.

 

For colour, the SAU LEE Maddie, the ELLIATT Evee and the Lovers and Friends Lucy, Poppy and Mac are all red, and the NBD Yaritza and MAJORELLE Margherita add a halter and a fuller skirt. The superdown May and the WeWoreWhat Bubble Skirt Corset mini are brown, which looks warmer in photos than black. The MORE TO COME Hartlen, Klaudia, Daphne and Emah and the superdown Allira, Elkie and Claire keep it simple.

 

The strapless Bardot and ELLIATT styles are the ones I would sit down in before buying.

 

The test for a corset bodice is to breathe in and bend forward. If the top edge gapes when you lean, the size is wrong, and no amount of tape will fix it on the dance floor.

 

What I would skip: a corset that only fits when you stand very still. You will be dancing for three hours.

The bubble hem is older than it looks. In 1954 Pierre Cardin made his robe bulle, a dress that ballooned around the hips and gathered back in at the hem, and the house still lists it as one of his most famous designs and the dress that launched his couture career. The shape keeps returning because it does two things at once: it looks playful and it hides nothing you would worry about when you sit.

 

The SIMKHAI Pollie in black and the Kenny in magenta are the two I would start with, and the Bardot Benita in pink is the sweetest. The retrofete Isolde is pale pink, the MORE TO COME Liliah is yellow and the Nala and Flynn come in black and wine. The Shona Joy Maiori Square Neck and Campbell Strapless bubble dresses have the neatest seams, and the Kate Barton Mini Bubble dress is the most sculptural.

 

For bows and volume, the LEO LIN Aliza Bow and Patsy Applique Puff dresses are the special ones, the Acler Oakenzale has a gold bow, the self-portrait Bow Lace mini puts a lace bow across the chest, and the Show Me Your Mumu Best Bow mini is the simplest bow dress here. The Alice + Olivia Tayla is a structured lantern shape in butterfly jacquard, and the La Vie Style House swing dress is faux suede hung with crystal tassels. The Acler Falldon, the Bardot Freda Volume, the Anna October Lourdes, the Alice + Olivia Nessa and the L'IDEE Flute add ruffles and petals, and the Lovers and Friends Raelynn and Annie, the FAITHFULL Aniela, the For Love & Lemons Marianne and the MAJORELLE Kristen round it out.

 

The test is the stairs. A bubble hem sits higher at the back than the front once you walk, so check it in a mirror from behind before you commit.

 

What I would skip: a bubble skirt with a huge bow and a big hair bow. One round shape is plenty.

One of the most talked-about short dresses of the last fifty years was a last-minute change. In June 1994 Princess Diana arrived at the Serpentine Gallery in an off-the-shoulder black silk dress by Christina Stambolian, which she had owned for three years and thought too daring, and the tabloids were soon calling it the revenge dress. It worked because it was simple: one colour, one strong neckline, a little drape.

 

This grid is for that idea. The Paris Georgia Ida, a ruched one-shoulder, and the SIMKHAI Stefi draped mini are the closest in spirit, and the Black Halo Jacqueline and the WARDROBE.NYC drape mini, both with a cowl neck, are the softer versions, with the SALONI draped mini adding beaded flowers. The STAUD Freda is black silk satin with long sleeves and a gathered waist, and the David Koma Macrame and Rebecca Vallance Cameron are both red with sleeves, which helps on a cold night.

 

For satin, the SAU LEE Teddi is gold, the Nadine Merabi Navy Satin is the darkest, the Only Hearts silk charmeuse slip is plum with lace at the edges, the self-portrait Satin Flower dress is green, and the Show Me Your Mumu Brynn, the Norma Kamali Reverse Obie, the MAJORELLE Laurena and the Camila Coelho Lina bring orange, yellow and two greens. The Karina Grimaldi Cleo Knit and the L'Academie The Dore add metal, the Norma Kamali Turtleneck Fishtail and the Lovers and Friends Sally are the long sleeves, and the LA FUORI Frosted Silver, The New Arrivals Noelie, the Bronx Banco Tokyo, the Show Me Your Mumu Taylor Tube, the SNDYS Angel and the MORE TO COME Stefani round out the grid.

 

SIEDRÉS is the label here I would look at if you want a dress you will wear again. Ceylin Türkkan Bilge, who studied at FIT in New York and worked for Adam Lippes, started it in Istanbul with her husband Emir Bilge, and its prints are designed around an imaginary Mediterranean town. The Jaz, Franky, Selene, Pula, Ioana and Vera are the easy short shapes in this grid, and the Floriana in the bubble grid is velvet with a ruffled hem.

 

My test for a simple dress is the photo test. Take one with flash in your bathroom mirror. If it looks plain on camera, add a strong earring rather than a second statement.

 

What I would skip: a satin slip with a thin strap and a heavy necklace. The weight pulls the neckline to one side all night.

Clueless still has the best line about a short dress. When Cher is held up in the Valley in a red Alaïa, her worry is the dress itself: this is an Alaïa. Earlier, her father looks at her outfit and asks what it is, she says a dress, he asks says who, and she answers Calvin Klein. Both dresses were simple and short, and both are still copied, which tells you that shape beats decoration.

 

So decide the shape first. If you want to dance without thinking, a bubble hem or a structured bodice stays put. If you want the photos, go to sequins and metal. If you want to look a year older than everyone, take the satin and drape grid.

 

The Aje Juniper in the last grid is the lace one, the STAUD Esther is sheer and beaded with long bell sleeves, and the Significant Other Luka and Third Form Inhale are the satin ones, so they fit whichever shape you choose.

 

Then do three checks before the night. Sit, lift your arms and walk up a flight of stairs in it. Wear the shoes you will actually dance in for twenty minutes at home. And keep one jacket or wrap in the car, because homecoming is in the fall and the parking lot is cold.

 

What I would skip: buying two dresses and deciding on the day. Pick one, try it with the shoes, and be done. If you want to keep browsing, I also put together Summer Dress Dresses.