Keep the shape of your body in mind when choosing a cheap formal dress. While there are uncounted numbers of gorgeous dresses offered for any body type, not every type of dress works for every type of body. Dresses that are too tight or too loose don't look becoming on anybody, be they full figured or skinny. Any dress should show your body as beautiful, no matter the size you use; it should show off your femininity without revealing it all.

Remember less may be more, and I don't mean less material, but rather trying less hard to impress. The most expensive designer dress will fall flat on a woman that feels awkward in it, while a simple dress worn naturally by a woman with confidence is dazzling anytime. An uncomfortable dress not only ruins your evening, it usually isn't flattering on you either, since your confidence suffers great set backs when you feel awkward and self conscious. So being able to move freely in your dress and feeling comfortable in it is very important.

If you want to know what styles and colors look best on you, you could follow this suggestion. At a mall, try on cheap formal dresses in different styles, lengths and colors. To know what a dress really looks like on you, try this: In the mirror you don't see all angles. Take a friend along to take a few photos of you in a dress you like with your cell phone from several angles like front, back and side view. Don't look at the photos yet, but rather try on several quite different models.

After you've tried on a variety of dresses that you liked and have taken pictures of yourself in them, stop for a moment and have a look at the photos. Now you can make a decision which one looks best on you, style, fit and color, all of it. At this point you have several choices: you can buy the dress at the store or you can shop around some more to see if you can't find a comparable dress at a bargain price somewhere else (this is also a good way to be able to choose styles on the internet, since you'll know what will look good on you).

When picking a cheap short formal dress the important issue to keep in mind is that the dress is supposed to show YOU off, not the other way around. Choose wisely when it comes to style, color and length so that they may bring out every beautiful facet of you.