expose the zone

In Milan last spring, Tom Ford at Gucci produced a stunning take on the slinky Seventies and Studio 54. His white jersey column dresses had cut-outs which framed and defined erogenous zones: curving cleavage, neat navel, or the sinuous line from underarm to waist. Now those dresses are in Gucci boutiques across the world and being snapped up by ladies with large bank balances - who're also showing off in Clements Ribeiro. Happily for the rest of us, Warehouse, the affordable high street chain, has alternative means of self-exposure. Melanie Rickey

This page: white jersey evening dress with split sides and low- slung belt, pounds 780, at Gucci, 33 Old Bond Street, London W1 and 18 Sloane Street, London SW1

Opposite: chocolate- brown crepe tunic with deep V-neck and side splits, pounds 234, by Clements Ribeiro, at Crackers, 62 Church Street, London SW13 (0171 409 7719); ivory stretch shorts, pounds 77, from the Active range at Fogal, 36 New Bond Street, London W1 and 3a Sloane Street, London SW1, and Harrods, Knightsbridge, London SW1; gold-plated shark's-tooth pendant on long chain, by Jacqueline Rabun, pounds 256, at Jess James, 3 Newburgh Street, London W1, and Harrods, as before

Main picture: terracotta jersey halter-neck, midriff-exposing dress, pounds 60, at branches of Warehouse nationwide (for information on your local branch, call 0171 278 3491)

Inset: black jersey halter-neck catsuit, pounds 50, at branches of Warehouse nationwide, as before; silver necklace, pounds 175, by Jacqueline Rabun, as before