A shawl is a must for your party

We're of the view that a beautiful wrap or shawl is the perfect accessory for the summer party season - the right one can complete your look and keep you warm on those cooler nights.

Choosing the right shawl for a party dress can be a bit of a challenge. It might seem simplest to choose a shawl in the same colour as your dress, but our preference is always to find something which complements your dress without looking too 'matchy-matchy'. As we show in the photo below, it's possible to highlight a beautiful pastel coloured dress by styling it with a shawl in a matching cool tone. Working a tone-on-tone combination like this is always an elegant choice. A black and white dress can be styled with any number of different coloured shawls, while a multicoloured dress is most beautiful when styled with a shawl which accentuates just one of the colours in the dress.

When you choose your shawl, it's important to focus on selecting something in a good quality fabric, or you might ruin your overall look. A good quality shawl or wrap need not be restyled throughout the night, but will remain as you first styled it for many hours. If the shawl is of a beautiful quality and nicely styled, the dress is actually less important - that is, a very simple and inexpensive dress can be made to look like a million dollars with the right accessorises.