Tadashi Shoji

The Sleeveless Sequin Lace Sheath Dress is built for a black-tie table. Lace layers over sequin. It photographs as well as it moves. Los Angeles designer Tadashi Shoji built his name on exactly that combination: lace and drape that read formal without looking stiff, made for the woman dressing for a wedding, a gala, or any black-tie table where the dress has to hold up under camera flash. Sequin gowns, embroidered sheaths, and pleated cocktail dresses fill out the rest of the women's dresses rack, with velvet, bodycon, and one-shoulder cuts for a night that calls for more than a plain sheath. Sizes run small through extra-large, so the same lace and drape fit more than one figure. Adrianna Papell carries that same evening-ready instinct close by on the rack.