There is something special to designer cocktail dresses because they are made out of the finest material to be found and are carefully handcrafted. Mother of the bride dress could perfectly be suited for a cocktail party. For some reasons, ladies like to wear most of the time, black cocktail dresses while other colors such as turquoise blue for example could yield gorgeous results. Granted that a black cocktail dress is very formal and could bring out in some ladies features which would go unoticed otherwise.
On the opposite side of this habit of wearing black, cocktail prom dress is made out of light colors; understanbly so since it is about young females,still in their adolescence. A Vera Wang dress is recognizable by the fluid lines she brings to her creations. A Mori Lee dress is not yet as quite recognizable because this is a designer who seems to be known so far only to a few people. Plus size cocktail dresses are not sold in department stores; they are either available in specialized boutiques or are to be mail ordered.