Suitable as an over-the-top reception dress or a dress for a special event. 
 
The dress is constructed from fabric that is densely embroidered with gold metal teardrop-shaped paillettes. These are applied on a dense, stretchy black knit base. 
 
Remarkably, Westwood herself gave insight into the creative process behind this collection in her diaries:
 
Sometimes I know the idea for a collection but this time I started really late with no idea except for a fragment of precious ribbon I had seen pictured in an old sales catalogue  … The original was medieval and the design had such a feeling of that time, formalized eagles in silk and gold threads circumscribed within an undulating chain motif.
 
… Then I had to choose fabrics which [the Italian studio] had pre-selected. The less fabric the better, I think; too many and the possible permutations become endless as the ideas gather, and I like to ‘cook’ with basic ingredients. I kept to basic fabrics … Set against the fabrics we took gold, a lamé looking metal — gold sequins.
 
One thing I knew about the collection — I wanted the woman to look important.
 
The collection was built around the fabric used to create Look 24; even the runway itself was made to resemble it, as you can see in the runway images at the end of the listing. As Westwood wrote: 
 
Andreas [Kronthaler, Westwood's partner] had also designed gloves and jewelry, but when the samples … arrived they were not nicely made. Therefore, he got them done in the gold sequin fabric and asked for a gold catwalk. Nobody will see them because of the reflection. When they arrived they were nicely made anyway and coincidently Andreas’s friend Tony, who does the look and lighting of the show, had prepared ideas for a gold catwalk. …
 
I called the collection World Wide Woman. A collection is more than the sum of its parts and this one entered a realm I had not envisaged. The final alchemy came from Andreas’s suggestion to Val (makeup) and Jimmy (hair): make the girls look like horses.
 
The effect was Out of this World!
 
We couldn't have said it better!
 
Size & measurements 
 
This dress fits a range of sizes, depending on the wearer's desired fit, because it is extremely stretchy. It comfortably fits our size 12-14 dress form with a bit of room to spare in the bust. The measurements of the dress form are:
 
Bust - 39"
Waist - 32.5"
Hip - 41"
 
Note that the dress is clipped on our model in the photos. She is a street size 2. It could be worn with a belt or in a slouchy fashion for smaller sizes. 
 
Also note that the arms are very long. That was Westwood's intended look, as seen in the runway images. 
 
Some paillette loss is normal and expected for a vintage garment, and this is no exception. Note that the areas around the side seams in some areas are bare of paillettes. This is not a flaw, it was a necessary part of the dress construction process.