Occasion Dresses in Berlin, Without Looking Like Occasionwear

Finding a dress for an occasion is easy. Finding one that doesn't immediately look like an “occasion dress” is slightly harder.

We don't really do endless racks of identical satin dresses at GRÜNWASCHEN. The dresses in the shop tend to be a little stranger, louder, more graphic or more reconstructed. Some are easier to wear than others. That's partly the point.

If you're looking for an occasion dress in Berlin for a dinner, birthday, gallery opening, party, wedding or one of those events where the dress code isn't entirely clear, the more useful question might be: how much attention do you actually want?

How much attention do you want?

This is usually where I'd start.

MemenTo and Couture Reloaded can both work for a bigger evening, but they do it quite differently. Couture Reloaded is good when you want something special and clearly not mass-produced, while still feeling put together. MemenTo tends to enter the room before you do.

If disappearing politely into the background is part of the plan, I probably wouldn't start with MemenTo. If being noticed sounds good, there are plenty of options.

The Red sits somewhere between a dress and a coat, with structured shoulders and enough presence to carry most of the outfit on its own. Girl. Power is less interested in compromise. It's the kind of piece where people will probably ask what you're wearing, which can either be a warning or exactly what you're looking for.

Dressed up doesn't have to mean traditional

People do come into the shop looking for something to wear to a wedding, and I'm still sometimes surprised by what they choose. In a good way.

A wedding guest doesn't automatically have to become pastel and polite for one day. The same goes for dinners, birthdays, Christmas parties, premieres or anything else that has somehow ended up with “dress nicely” written on the invitation.

Some people want an elegant silhouette with one strange element. Others want the entire look to be the strange element. Both are valid.

Couture Reloaded makes sense to me when you want the length and presence of an evening dress without looking like you've walked straight out of a traditional eveningwear shop. The pieces are reconstructed and upcycled, so the dress still feels dressed up, just with a little more character.

For something darker and more restrained, the Black Void dress by Azul Ballestero goes in another direction. It's black, midi-length and easier to build an outfit around, but the metal detailing stops it from becoming anonymous.

For the event where you can get away with almost anything

Then there are the pieces that aren't really interested in solving the usual occasionwear problem.

A gallery opening, birthday, club night, art event or dinner with people who aren't going to be shocked by a little colour gives you more room. This is where some of the more experimental pieces in the shop make a lot of sense.

SANGENJAYA's blue and green dress is painted with acrylic colour and silicone, so I'd probably avoid it for the conservative dress-code invitation. For almost everything else, that's another story.

The Jona Bednjanec maxi feels particularly good once Berlin starts moving out of summer. It's oversized, knitted and colourful, which makes it an interesting alternative to the usual idea that an evening dress has to mean something silky and sleeveless.

Not every occasion needs a performance

There are also days when you want colour and character without building your entire evening around the dress.

A wrap dress works well when the occasion sits somewhere between dinner, birthday and “I have no idea what everyone else is wearing”. You still look considered, but you don't have to negotiate with the outfit all evening.

The person behind the dress matters too

The person who comes to GRÜNWASCHEN for a dress usually cares about more than whether it technically fits the invitation.

There is often an interest in who made it, how it was made and why the piece looks the way it does. A lot of what we carry comes from independent designers working in small quantities. Some pieces are one-of-one, some are upcycled, and others simply exist in quantities that would look slightly ridiculous next to the production numbers of a normal fashion chain.

I like that. You might be buying something for one particular evening, but ideally it shouldn't feel like a costume that only makes sense once.

And chances are fairly good that you won't see the same dress five tables away.

If you want to see more of the people making the clothes, you can also read our guide to fashion designers in Berlin or our guide to upcycled fashion in Berlin .