Fashion Trend: The Collared Dress for the Holidays

Kris Jenner models the Valentino version of the black dress with contrast white collar which her daughter Kim Kardashian described as “Omish” on Instagram.

A few seasons ago  Valentino brought back a fashion staple: the little black dress with a collar. The dress was quickly popularized by celebrities from Kris Jenner to Rachel Zoe.  Jennifer Lopez wore a Valentino black dress with a red  contrast collar. Since then there have been various iterations on this dress turning up everywhere. The variations and the prices on this very basic style run the gamut. Virtually every designer from Valentino, to Ted Baker London to Maje has a version of this dress. For the holidays, you can expect to see this style at many holiday parties.  Is everybody knocking off Mr. Valentino, or is this a vintage style that he popularized for others to interpret?  The original design owes much to Puritan garments and Pilgrim collars.  And Valentino pays homage to the Puritans with a version of the dress called the  “puritan collar cape mini dress” on sale for a mere $3,490.00. Here’s a few of our picks from the chic to the cheap for this look.

The gorgeous red dress with white collar by Valentino recently worn by Gwen Stefani is on the Neiman Marcus Designer sale, although it’s still thousands of dollars. Look for a lower priced, but similar dress from Ted Baker at Nordstrom. The 4,390 Valentino dress is on sale at Neiman Marcus. The $248.00 Ted Baker London dress is on sale at Nordstrom. That’s a huge differential of  $4,00 difference between the two garments.

Rachel Zoe has a version of the dress with a beaded collar on sale at Nordstrom’s for $428. Maje’s version has a red collar and cuffs accenting the black mini dress on sale for $470.  The Maje dress with red collar is very similar to Valentino’s Wool and silk-blend mini dress with red rosette collar that retailed for $1,756.00 US on Net-a-Porter.com.

Other versions of the dress feature lace, prints, and embellishments like beads or cyrstals on the collar.  Designers from Victoria Beckham to Jason Wu have their own take on this trend. Topshop’s version features embroidery on a burgundy dress with white collar and is on sale at Nordstrom for $140.00.

Less expensive interpretations of the black dress with white collar include Cynthia Steffe’s Alabama dress for $198.00 and Lauren by Ralph Lauren’s version on sale at Macy’s for $122.00.

If you like the style, but don’t want to pay over $100.00, let alone over $1,000, then check out a version at Dorothy Perkins for a very reasonable $49.00 US/ 32 GBP.

As you can see, this style is everywhere this holiday season in a variety of prints, materials and lengths (from midi to mini.) What do you think readers? Is this dress on your shopping list or do you think it’s getting to the point that every person has one and you want something a bit more unique?