How to be the belle of the ball

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), March 10, 2007

Byline: By Rebecca Carter

Her busy life means she rarely has time to put up her feet and relax.

As a public relations executive with a Newcastle agency, Cer Gemma Clarke, 22, of Cramlington, has a jam packed life ( one minute she could be writing a press release for a strict deadline, the next networking at a local business event.

However, this month Gemma has a treat in store as one of the company's clients, Childline North East, is holding its annual fundraising ball at the glamorous Hilton Hotel Newcastle Gateshead and lucky Gemma has a ticket ( but nothing to wear!

To sort her out, I became fairy godmother for the day and whisked her off to Monsoon, in Newcastle's Eldon Square, to find a dress fit for the ball.

Monsoon's new season stock is arriving daily with many exciting new lines and ranges. We were impressed with the many dresses on of offer and found it hard to limit our choices to four!

The first we chose was a classic black knee length number with coral ribbon detail. This was a simple dress that was easy to wear and would lend its self to may occasions. We paired the dress with some simple black heels and coral jewellery.

Next, we went for a really pretty pink strapless number which Gemma loved.

The dress was so elegant all we did was pair it with some cream satin shoes and beaded bag and it looked stunning.

After that we found a glamorous, strapless floor length dress in a deep emerald green.

This was my favourite dress and would be perfect for a ball.

We paired this with some black heels and a green necklace to finish the outfit.

Finally, we went for a contemporary dress in a multi print satin.

The pattern was clean and angular and the colours included deep sapphire blues and ruby reds paired with a subtle shimmering gold.

The style of the dress was really flattering with its plunging v-neck and A-Line cut.

We paired this dress with a long necklace and cream satin shoes.

To perfect all of Gamma's outfits for the photo shoot I took her to Soul, in Saville Row Newcastle, for a treat.

At Soul, stylist Lisa used the new GHD styler to create some soft curls in Gemma's hair before styling a small section to give height at the back.

I then waved my magic wand one more time with the destination the Hilton Hotel Newcastle Gateshead for the photo shoot.

Overall, Gemma really enjoyed being Cinderella for the day and her favourite outfit was the strapless pink dress, cream satin shoes and beaded bag.

We were both really impressed with the choice of dresses at Monsoon and she said she would definitely go there again if she was lucky enough to be invited to another ball.

The Childline Ruby Ball is on Friday , at the Hilton Hotel. Tickets are pounds 60 each and for more information visit: www.childline.org.uk/ northeastball or call (0191) 212 7940.

* Special Thanks to: Stacey, Jackie and all the team at Monsoon. Andrew and Lisa at Soul Hairdressers Saville Row Newcastle (for information and appointments call: 0191 230 2135) and Tina Hoe and all the team at the Hilton Newcastle Gateshead where the photographs were taken.