If House of CB built its reputation on the bandage-tight bodycon dress that dominated Australian formalwear for the better part of a decade, the column dress is what women are reaching for now they want the same polished, elongating effect without the second-skin compression. The shift is architectural rather than dramatic — away from curve-hugging stretch fabric and toward a straight, unbroken drop from shoulder or bust to hem. It’s the difference between a dress that shapes the body and one that simply follows it.
The column silhouette has been building momentum on runways favouring minimalism — clean vertical lines, fluid drape, and an emphasis on fabric quality over structural boning or ruching. For everyday Australian wardrobes, that translates into a dress that works as hard for a Saturday wedding as it does for a client dinner, because the shape itself does the flattering rather than the fit. We’ve pulled together six column dresses across price points — from a $163 entry point to a $799 investment gown — to show where this trend earns its place in a wardrobe and where the differences in price actually show up.
The Column Dresses Worth Owning
The Shona Joy LA Lune Strapless Column Maxi Dress ($380) is the most literal execution of the trend — it’s named as a column dress, and it behaves like one. Strapless, in espresso, with a straight drop through the bodice and skirt, it’s built for evening wear where the fabric needs to fall cleanly without pulling at the bust. Shona Joy’s occasionwear has always sat in the same tier as brands like Bec + Bridge, and this piece is a fair comparison point: similar price, similar polish, but a more restrained silhouette than Bec + Bridge’s typically more embellished eveningwear.
At the other end of the price spectrum, the BOTEH Palmetto Column Maxi Dress is currently sitting at $163.25, down from $360. That’s the steepest markdown in this edit, and it makes the trend accessible without needing to commit at the $400+ mark. The cut is slim and straight through the body — less occasionwear, more everyday column dressing, which makes it the easiest of the six to wear on repeat.
The Tojha Solrae Gown in Black ($450) sits in the middle of the pack and leans further into eveningwear territory than the BOTEH or Shona Joy pieces. The black colourway means it reads formal without trying, and the column shape does the elongating work a lot of black gowns need embellishment to achieve. Tojha’s price point puts it alongside independent Australian label pricing rather than the majors, which is worth knowing if you’re comparing it to a gown from a bigger occasionwear name.
The Aje Arlina Gown ($799) is the investment piece of the group, in the Rosaria colourway. Aje’s pricing here reflects what the brand is known for — considered prints and fabric development rather than a plain black or neutral base — so the cost buys exclusivity of print as much as the column shape itself. This is the piece to choose if you want a dress that reads as a statement rather than a wardrobe basic, and it suits a customer who already owns the simpler column pieces and wants one dress that stands on its own.
The Tojha Lura Maxi Dress ($312, down from $390) and the Cue Scoop Neck Maxi Dress ($344.55) round out the middle tier. The Lura is streamlined and currently discounted, making it a reasonable entry into Tojha’s occasionwear without paying full price. The Cue piece, in black with a scoop neckline, is the most workwear-adjacent of the six — the kind of column dress you can style for a client meeting as easily as dinner afterward, which is where Cue tends to differentiate itself from more strictly eveningwear-focused labels.
How to Style Each Piece
The Shona Joy LA Lune’s strapless neckline needs minimal jewellery — a single statement earring or nothing at all, since the dress is already doing the visual work. A structured clutch and a low, sleek heel keep the line unbroken from shoulder to floor.
The BOTEH Palmetto, at its lower price point, is the one to dress down. A denim jacket over the top and flat sandals turn it into daytime wear rather than eveningwear, which is exactly where the price justifies itself — it’s flexible enough to earn cost-per-wear that the higher-priced pieces in this edit aren’t built for.
The Tojha Solrae Gown in black benefits from a mid-height heel rather than anything too high — the column shape already elongates, so the goal is balance rather than added height. A fine gold chain or a single cuff is enough; anything busier competes with the clean line the dress is built around.
The Aje Arlina Gown, given the Rosaria print, is best left to do its own thing. Simple gold jewellery and neutral heels let the print carry the look rather than competing with it. This is not a dress to layer heavily — the investment is in the print and the fit, and both are lost under a jacket.
The Cue Scoop Neck Maxi works well with a blazer thrown over the top for daytime, then swapped for a heeled sandal and drop earrings once the sun goes down — one of the more transitional pieces in the group.
What Pairs With What: Building the Rest of the Look
Column dresses read best against simple accessories, because the silhouette itself is the statement. A structured bag — box clutch or a simple top-handle — pairs more naturally with the straight-line shape than anything slouchy or oversized, which tends to break the visual line the dress creates.
For footwear, a pointed-toe heel in a neutral tone (nude, black, or a tonal match to the dress) keeps the leg line continuous, which matters more with column dresses than with fuller silhouettes where the shoe has more room to contrast. Strappy sandals work for the strapless Shona Joy piece and the Cue dress; a closed pump suits the more formal Tojha and Aje gowns.
Outerwear is where the price tiers start to matter. The BOTEH and Tojha Lura pieces, sitting under $320, can handle a casual layer — denim, a linen shirt tied at the waist — without undercutting the investment. The Aje gown and Tojha Solrae, both priced to be occasion pieces, are better left unlayered so the fabric and cut remain visible.
Price Points to Know Before You Buy
Across this edit, the range runs from $163.25 to $799, with most pieces sitting between $310 and $450. The BOTEH Palmetto is the standout entry point at its current markdown, and the Tojha Lura’s discount to $312 makes it a reasonable step up if you want a more occasion-ready fabric than the BOTEH offers. The Shona Joy, Tojha Solrae, and Cue pieces sit in a consistent $340–$450 band, which is where most of this trend’s wardrobe-building options live.
The Aje Arlina Gown at $799 is the outlier, and it should be treated as such — a considered purchase for a print and cut you’ll want to keep rather than an everyday column dress. If the column silhouette is new to your wardrobe, starting with one of the sub-$350 pieces and building up to something like the Aje once you know the shape suits you is the more practical approach.
As a trend, the column silhouette reads as a direction rather than a passing season — it draws on a minimalism that’s been building steadily rather than a single runway moment, which suggests longer shelf life than the more decorated eveningwear styles it’s replacing. Discover the full edit on Miss Nelly Boutique to see how each piece looks across the different colourways and cuts.
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