When it comes to weddings, we wish that compiling the mailing list was our highest priority (or at least the future mother-in-law does), but lets be honest, it’s really all about the dress. 

Just in time for spring fever (and summer engagements), Vancouver designer Jason Matlo has launched a line of fashion-forward gowns. From ballerina ball skirts to sleek-and-slinky jersey, retro details like asymmetrical necklines, Grecian draping, and tons of tulle define these hand-finished couture creations.

Now, back to that mailing list….

www.jasonmatlo.com

To see more dresses, view photos on the Editors' Diary.

We always thought Bianca was cooler than Mick…and we think her Halston-heavy wardrobe had a lot do with it.

Decades after the line epitomized jet-set style among the coolest actresses and socialites, diffusion line Halston Heritage has launched with perennial fashion It Girl Sarah Jessica Parker at the helm. She models the white jersey deep V-neck dress ($395) on the Sex and the City 2 movie poster, and the look, topped off with loads of gold accessories, is shimmery glam. The entire collection has a heavy '70s-style vibe with one-shoulder dresses, a tie-dye jumpsuit and jersey, jersey, jersey.

It's enough drapery and drama to fill Studio 54.

Halston Heritage is available at the Bay Vancouver Downtown, 674 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-684-6211, www.thebay.com

Dazed & Confused fashion editor and Gareth Pugh runway stylist Katie Shillingford has the sartorial daring to dye her hair ombré. We like something a little less permanent.

Which is why we love Lifetime Collective’s Digits dress. Made of silk that graduates from white to midnight blue, the sporty shift is fashion-forward yet utterly unfussy.

It’s already sold out online, but we found the frock at the Vancouver label’s special pop-up shop inside Gastown’s One of A Few. Snap it up before it fades away.

$160 at Lifetime in One of A Few, 354 Water St., Vancouver, 604-605-0685, www.lifetimecollective.com

See photos of the Lifetime pop-up boutique on our Editors' Diary.

So you’re not quite as swift with the Singer as your mom once was.

Thank goodness there’s another mother who’ll whip up a gorgeous handmade dress for your budding fashionista. With au courant details like 1920s drop waists and Liberty of London fabrics, the modern frocks by Vancouver line Mette will have her standing apart from the crowd.

And not because she’s wearing a bright orange polyester shift—that was you at age 4.

Dresses from $40, www.mette.ca

With the holiday season almost upon us, everyone needs a new party dress...or two.

And what better way to beat the bank (and the drycleaner) than with a reversible silk charmeuse wrap dress that can be worn as a solid colour with flashes of a patterned lining, or inside out for the opposite effect?

Vancouver designer Sheri Rose has just the thing, with luscious combinations like Chocolate lined with Emerald that come in 16 styles (the Iris and Sophia dresses are reversible). Custom dresses start at $125, and are typically delivered in less than two weeks.

If only ordering up the perfect party date was so simple.

Preview dress stylesat www.mysherirose.com

Book an appointmentat Sheri Roses' Yaletown studio at 604-681-7687.