It's my party frock( and i'll design it if I want to )

IT IS that dreadful time of year.

The days are getting shorter and the party season is fast approaching. The perennial problem presents itself: how on earth do you find the perfect dress, at a reasonable price, but one that won't also be worn to the office party by Betty the secretary and Moira in accounts? Couture, of course, is wildly expensive, but even designer dresses often turn out to be too short, or too long, or too tight, or in not quite the right shade of lilac ...

To the rescue comes Topshop's new Atelier service, to be launched at the flagship store in Oxford Circus next week.

The idea is alarmingly simple.

You are shown five classic styles, from a Twenties flapper dress to an empireline gown.

Choose one and, with the help of sketches by fashion illustrator David Downton and a fleet of talented seamstresses with pins in their mouths and "on the bias" on the brain, you can decide what length you want, whether or not you want to show cleavage, what fabric would suit you best (silk, satin, chiffon?), and you can choose from a rainbow selection of jewel colours.

Because the dresses are bespoke, you will cleverly be able to camouflage your weak points (fat ankles, flat chest), and promote your best bits (a long neck or tiny waist). To ensure your design is as exclusive as possible, the store will keep a log book of exactly what you chose, sequin embellishments and all.

And - ta da! - just two weeks later, and having forked out only a smidgen over a hundred quid, you will be contacted and told your dress is ready.

All you need do then is pop along for a final tweak, and glance admiringly at yourself in a fulllength mirror.

We tried out the service on the two most individual models of the moment: Erin O'Connor, who quite happily admits she has "a nose like Concorde", and the 16-year-old Notting Hill schoolgirl and Vogue veteran Lily Cole.

They admitted they didn't really have any lumps and bumps to disguise, although both are very tall and naturally whippetthin, so they chose soft, draped fabrics that made them feel "more womanly". So, will Lily be swapping her minuscule cut-off denim skirt for something more floaty. "Nah," she says.

"Still far too expensive ..."

. The Topshop Atelier range will be launched on 23 October at Oxford Circus.

Prices range from Pounds 120-Pounds 190; 020 7927 7863.

: Lily wears a silk chiffon green hankie dress, Pounds 160

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