clelia's party dresses CPD 30 Pair it with slingback pumps and a jewelry clutch for a polished look at sleek events. DESTREE Clelia Paneled Broderie Anglaise-trimmed

Veronica Beard Oakley Dress A denim shift minidress is the epitome of cool

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MAX STUDIO Ruffle Shirred Georgette Midi Dress Dainty ruffles frame this lightweight midi dress, featuring elegant shirring and a tiered A-line silhouette

In Virginia Woolfs Mrs Dalloway our titular character moves through her much-anticipated party elegantly in a silver-green mermaids dress with the perfect ease and air of a creature floating in its element. In Atonement , too, McEwan writes of Cecilia discarding a pink frock for being too innocently pale, instead appraising her emerald-clad appearance: It was a mermaid who rose to meet her in her own full-length mirror. AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT Perhaps we too want to be in thrall to green at the moment coolly submerged and transformed into something mythic, hungering after its suggestion of unapproachability (think of Gatsbys green light across the water, or the distant call of Ozs Emerald City)