Dress Dilemma

Advise Needed.

We recently received an email from one of our readers with a party fashion quandary. And while I definitely have my own opinion on this, I would certainly not consider myself a fashion expert. So we are seeking your opinions on this to best help our friend, Liz.

Here's the situation: Liz and her beau hold a Formal Black & White Party every year at their apartment. For the last 3 years, she has purchased a brand new dress. This year she is trying to be more frugal and would like to wear a dress that she already owns. She has a dress in mind (pictures below) that she wore on her birthday 1 1/2 years ago. Only about 10 of her closest friends saw it at that time...but of course there are probably pics on Facebook if someone really wanted to investigate. So here's the question:

Is it a fashion faux-pas to re-wear a dress? Should a certain amount of time pass before one should re-wear a dress to a special occasion like a formal dinner party or wedding?

It is the opinion of Hip Hostess that Liz can definitely re wear the dress (which is gorgeous, by the way). We don't think there is a stead-fast rule of time that has to pass, but instead it depends on the occasion and mix of people. In this case, there is definitely enough variance to make it work. What I would suggest is mixing up hairstyles, shoes, and accessories to make the entire overall look different. Below are some hair, makeup and accessory ideas that I think would look nice. But what do you all think?

1. Braided updo and drop earrings. 2. Crimson lips with subtle eyes.
3. More red lips and neutral eyes. 4. Cat Deeley's faux bob and fantastic diamante bangle bracelets.
All from Instyle.com