the frill of it all

It all started with Liz Hurley - so many things do - when, at the 1995 Baftas she wore 'that' pink Galliano flamenco dress. Three seasons on, it's grab your castanets time: sensuous ruffles cascade down shirt fronts, spin around bias-cut evening dresses and twirl along skirt hems. Wear them small and neat for work, or unabashedly huge for a fancy-free night out. Pared down (and frankly boring) A-line dresses will never have the same appeal again.

Main picture, and above centre: toffee-coloured ruffle jacket, pounds 485; matching skirt, pounds 208, both by Clements Ribeiro (tel: 0171 409 7719); hoop earrings, pounds 40, from Detail, 4A Symons St, SW3 (tel: 0171 730 8488)

Above left: milk chocolate ruffle high-waist skirt, pounds 390, by John Rocha, at Liberty, Regent St, W1 (tel: 0171 734 1234), Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, SW3 (tel: 0171 235 5000), and Selfridges, Oxford St, W1 (tel: 0171 629 1234); lime silk ruffle wrap-top, pounds 35, from Warehouse, 19-21 Argyll St, W1, and branches nationwide (tel: 0171 278 3491); earrings and gold bangles, pounds 23 each, from Detail, as before

Above right: Twenties floral ruffle chiffon dress, pounds 175, from the Gallery of Antique Costume and Textiles, 2 Church St, London NW8 (tel: 0171 723 9981); gold torque, pounds 60, and earrings both from Detail, as before; snakeskin high-heel shoes, pounds 290, by Valentino, 174 Sloane St, SW1 (tel: 0171 235 5855)

Bottom right: green Seventies dress with white wisps, pounds 150, from Steinberg and Tolkein, 193 King's Rd, SW3 (tel: 0171 376 3660); gold bracelets, Detail, as before

Bottom left: peach ruffle wrap-top, pounds 99, by Nicole Farhi, 158 New Bond St, W1 (tel: 0171 499 8368); cream skirt with pleats, pounds 494, by Alberta Ferretti, from Harvey Nichols, as before; cream peep-toe shoes, pounds 125, from Russell and Bromley, 24-25 New Bond St, W1 and selected branches (tel: 0171 629 6903)