The Blue Prom Dresses We Keep Coming Back To Handpicked by Claire

I used to think blue was the “safe” prom colour, the one you picked when you couldn’t decide, and then a girl called Priya turned up to her leavers’ do in a cobalt satin number that made the entire hall look beige by comparison and I had to sit down and reconsider everything. Blue isn’t a fallback. It’s the colour that photographs properly under bad school hall lighting, works with basically every skin tone going, and somehow still manages to look like a choice rather than a compromise.

What makes a good one comes down to depth of colour more than cut. Navy does a moodier, grown up thing. Cobalt and royal blue have that jolt of confidence that reads well in every single photo, including the ones your mum insists on taking outside the front door.

Pale ice blue is gorgeous but it’s unforgiving, it shows every crease and every nervous sweat patch, so if you’re going pale, go for a fabric with a bit of structure, not something that clings and tells on you.

Styling wise, keep the accessories quiet and let the dress do the talking.

Silver jewellery over gold, nine times out of ten, blue just sits better with it. A metallic or clear bag rather than a matching one, matching bags read a bit dated now. Shoes can go one of two ways, a strappy nude heel if you want your legs to look longer, or a proper statement shoe in silver or even a contrasting colour if the dress is simpler. Hair down and loose works with softer blues, and something more sculpted, a low bun or slicked back style, earns its keep against a bolder cobalt or a fitted bodice.

This is obviously a prom dress category first and foremost, but don’t write it off after one wear. A good navy or midnight blue piece does a wedding guest look, a summer ball, even a smarter work do if you swap the accessories. The mistake is treating it as a one night outfit and then wondering why it’s hanging at the back of the wardrobe by September. Buy it properly, wear it more than once, and it earns its space.