I was invited to Style’s 10th anniversary party here in Singapore and I felt that I finally had the chance to wear my silk red dress that I bought in the sales at Calvin Klein last June. It had first been intended for my birthday, but since this was not the most suitable dress to shop in Amsterdam for a whole day (which is what I did before my birthday party), I ended up wearing another Calvin Klein dress then. I did not really know what to expect of this particular party, but since the dress code was ‘stylish’, I thought this dress would fit the bill.

My friend Anne

I was very lucky to be accompanied by my friend Anne this time. Anne is one of my friends from my time in Bologna, Italy which is more than 20 years ago. We went to Spanish classes together. What a different life we had back then, still without kids, without hand phones (at the time we were making fun of the few Italians who had them then) no internet (still writing lots of letters!) and not too many obligations. Now we both have hand phones, kids (she has 4!) many bills to pay and I basically live on the Internet. Still, it does not feel like my time in Italy was so long ago and deep inside I’m still that young woman.

Anne in red dress

It was only recently that I reconnected with Anne. We had gone our different ways with Anne living in France and then moving on to Mexico while we were all the way in Australia, then China and now Singapore. So it came as a total surprise when on an evening walk my husband and I got stopped in the middle of the street by screams of our 2 long-lost friends (her husband was there with her). You certainly don’t expect 2 people that you met in Italy, haven’t seen for more than 15 years, who you think are living in France, to suddenly show up in Singapore.

Magical things happen and I’m so glad that our paths have crossed again.

Although we did not talk at all about what we were going to wear for this evening, Anne had picked a fabulous red dress as well. Although Anne is Danish, she is a married to a frenchman and has a very chic Parisian style. Anne truly knows her style which hasn’t changed much from the time I knew her from Italy and she is still as stylish as ever.

Back to the party

The party itself was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. The room was very dark and extremely noisy. And other than listen to the band, there was not much else you could do. I guess I had expected a few good presentations, perhaps even a fashion show, or an exhibition of the best of Style Magazine. Perhaps the party was aimed at a much younger crowd, but even they were all just standing there. Nobody danced. In the end, the best place to be for us was just outside the main hall where we could talk and just watch what everyone was wearing. I even managed to take a few pictures.

style party

The after party

We soon decided to leave and in the end ended up at one of my favorite places in Singapore. The wine company at Dempsey Hill. They have a lovely spacious outdoor terrace where you can sip wines or in my case a wonderful Strawberry Daiquiry. (should have taken a photograph of that as well!). We ended up having a fabulous night and a wonderful chat in our colourful red dresses!

The dress

Here are a few shots I took before the party (and before makeup), as I did not know if I would get any good shots in the evening. As you see I’m practising my leg over leg pose, which seems to be THE pose for all the movie stars. (wondering if I should put my left leg over the right leg or vice versa). I’m sure you will recognise that this dress has a lot of my favorite elements: draping, asymmetry, colour and knee length. I’m sure this is a dress I will have a lot of pleasure of for a long time to come.

red calvin klein silk dress

Dress: Calvin Klein
Shoes: Hester van Eeghen
Necklace: Herman van Berkel

Just wondering, do you own a red dress too?

Sylvia

Sylvia is 40+style’s editor-in-chief and has been helping women find their unique style since 2011. An alumni of the School of Color and Design, she is devoted to empowering women of any age to look and feel their best. Read more about Sylvia and 40+style on this page.

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