What shoppers want: Today's occasionwear hits

Ascot marks a pivotal date in the British occasionwear calendar, with Ladies Day (and its strict dress code of hats and modest-length dresses, whose straps must be at least one inch in thickness) a key focus for shoppers, press and retailers. The race season, together with Wimbledon, polo and summer

weddings create an increased consumer demand for outdoor occasion dressing which retailers need to address by offering the perfect day attire at the right price.

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nalyzing commercial activity in the premium and luxury markets for these key events is crucial for apparel retailers to capitalise on new product trends. EDITD runs the world’s biggest data warehouse, and we’ve analysed more than 25,000 products across the summer 2014 race season to identify the top designers and the dress trends which sell best.

Top race season designers

The best-selling luxury brands of the Summer 2014 race season are:
1. Dolce & Gabbana
2. Valentino
3. Oscar de la Renta
4. Diane Von Furstenberg
5. Alexander McQueen

The best-selling dress trends

Analysis of the dresses which sold out in the premium and luxury market at full price in the past month shows us the items with the highest demand. It's also a good indicator of trends early in their life cycle, as buyers may have not yet fully estimated the depth of demand. Here are the top five dress styles of the past month:

1. Floral prints

2,203 floral printed dresses have arrived in the UK premium and luxury markets for the SS14 season, with an average price point of £850 ($1,490). Dolce & Gabbana introduced the highest number of floral styles onto the market. Florals have gone on to become the best-selling dress trend, with styles from Vivienne Westwood's Anglomania, Peter Pilotto, Moschino Cheap and Chic and Preen all selling out. Roses, sprigs, peonies and silhouette floral shapes have all sold well, as have tropical prints at Kenzo and foliage-dense prints for Marc by Marc Jacobs.

2. Drape

Perhaps an under-reported trend, dresses featuring draped panels have sold very well in the build up to race season. 2,097 new styles arrived onto the UK premium and luxury market in SS14, with red, blue and black being the most popular shades. Helmut Lang, Jil Sander and Donna Karen have all had sell outs of their draped style dresses in the past month - sophisticated brands for this flattering and modest dress style.

3. Lace

A classic staple of the occasionwear market, there have been 1,994 new lace dresses arriving online during SS14. Those dresses are taking an average of 41 days to reach sell out during the build up to race and wedding season. Shift-shaped dresses in all-over lace are by far the most stocked, in both sleeved and sleeveless styles. Styles from Balenciaga, Valentino, Luisa Beccaria and Dolce & Gabbana have all sold well in the past month, across an array of colors.

4. Monochrome print

A hugely popular trend during SS13, across all markets, the monochromatic palette has found new life for 2014 in monochrome print. With only 249 new products arriving during SS14, it is a trend buyers have understocked on - the same number of styles have sold out as lace dresses in the month building up to race season and monochrome prints on average are taking 36 days to sell out. Styles from Stella McCartney (hearts), Sportmax (polka dots) and Chloé (large checks) have all sold out in the last month.

5. Colorblocked

A trend we're seeing stocked by key luxury retailers including Browns, Liberty, Matches, Net-a-Porter and Selfridges, colorblocking has had heightened commercial activity. Styles by MaxMara, Carolina Herrera and Michael Kors have done well in the UK premium and luxury market in the last month. While many styles opt for the color split to be between body and skirt of the dress, Roksanda Ilincic, Ted Baker and Victoria Victoria Beckham have all cleverly implemented flashes of colour within knife pleats or inserted panels adding movement and surface interest and cementing the trend's luxury market credentials.

The best-selling colors

Using EDITD software to compile a color wheel of the SS14 dresses, which have sold out at full price in the build up to race season, is a fascinating insight into leading color trends. Of course, black is the most popular shade, with the staple black dress forming the core of most female shopper's wardrobes. Reds and oranges have had a strong impact commercially - Oscar de la Renta, Badgley Mishka, ALICE by Temperley and Belstaff have all had wins with these vibrant reds. Marni, Victoria Victoria Beckham and Roksanda Ilincic have all seen their orange shades sell out.

Pretty pinks and blush tones are met with lavenders - the popularity of these colors undoubtedly inspired by how well they present in press and retailers' pastel trend visual merchandising. A strong and seasonal tone can be seen in the vivid yellows which have sold out. At Dolce & Gabbana, the shade was ground to a pretty brocade floral. The high proportion of neutral tones seen in the colorwheel - the biscuits, mushrooms and milky shades - are thanks to the high popularity of lace.

As the wedding season now kicks into full swing, demanding yet more dressy occasionwear, it's certain these trends will see retailers through the summer.

Katie Smith, Senior Fashion & Retail Market Analyst at EDITD