Barbie's Pretty Lace Dress

Lace is doing two jobs at the same time, which is why it is so easy to get wrong.

It is a texture, so it changes how light sits on the fabric, and it is a pattern, so it competes with anything else patterned in the outfit. Put lace next to a print and the eye cannot settle. Put it next to something plain and it becomes the only interesting surface in the picture, which is exactly what it wants.

The other decision is what is underneath. Lace over a contrasting colour reads as graphic and deliberate; lace over a matching one reads as texture and almost disappears. Both are valid and they are very different dresses.