You know what they are, now you know what they’re called:

Event dresses are usually unveiled at weddings, awards ceremonies, gala balls and important state events. They soar to the heights and plumb the depths. To borrow the words of renowned broadcaster Jim McKay, host of the now-defunct ABC’s Wide World of Sports, event dresses are about “the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.”

(As you may recall, defeat was epitomized by ski jumper Vinko Bogataj’s stunning and unforgettable crash down the slopes of Oberstdorf in the former West Germany in 1970. If you’ve ever failed at an event dress, it’s not a bad analogy.)

Whether successes or failures, some event dresses remain memorable long after the champagne flutes have been drained and the guests have gone home.

The article is by Hilary Cunningham, cultural anthropologist at the University of Toronto, and appears online courtesy the Toronto Star.