One Hollywood Stars: Reader Question: Wedding Attire

So, my shopping adventure involves looking as

drop-dead-gorgeous as possible for my cousin's wedding

in July. This cousin's sister is nauseatingly p-e-r-f-e-c-t.

I want to be snarky and show her up a bit! The wedding is

"cocktail" hour - 4PM. Dress code is formal, but not too

"recycled prom dress" if you know what I mean.

Oh, I do know what you mean. We've all been there. Who hasn't wanted to show up to some party/wedding totally knockout gorgeous to make the ex or some random frenemy totally jelly. Finding wedding attire is always an involved hunt, but add in the make-someone-jealous factor, and things just got a bit harder.

When dressing to impress a man, all one needs to do is find something slinky and show a little cleave. But when dressing to show up a woman, you have to take it to a higher level. Impressing a woman on the clothing front will take higher levels of detail - ruffle, pleating; design - an asymmetrical neckline; fabric - don't want to look like you shopped in juniors; and (my personal favorite way of rubbing it in) designer. What's better is that I've found quite a few designer dress options on sale, and while the object of your jealousy-inducing will likely recognize your high end taste, she'll never know what you paid. And that's another victory in itself.

Just a few things to keep in mind: Cocktail/formal dresses are all about fit. I can't really tell you what exactly is best for you without physically being there with you in the fitting room. Be sure to watch out for length. You don't want to go to short and look like a hussy. If something is too long and hitting you at an unflattering spot, don't wear it anyway, take it to a tailor. Tailors are your best friend; they can shorten dresses, shorten straps (something overlooked, but very necessary), cinch in a waist, and a whole multitude of other nips and tucks your dress may need. Lastly, dripping in hotness also requires the right accessories. So make sure to have some killer shoes, a killer clutch, and some fab jewelry.

I'm just a little thrown by this whole formal/cocktail at 4 pm thing, but I think I've rounded up some good contenders. I'll leave it up to you to figure out if they fit the dress code for your wedding.