No, there are no big parties this New Year’s Eve. But, yes, you shall go to the ball — think an especially sparkly disco glitterball.
In fact, think Sophie Ellis-Bextor. For pure escapism, little could beat Sophie’s online Kitchen Disco during lockdown, when a bop beside the dishwasher on a Friday night felt like a small act of defiance against the sombre news. And let’s face it, now feels like the perfect time to go full-on glam again, partly to celebrate the end of a dreadful year, and partly to lift our spirits in advance of a tough January.
Luckily, when 2020 goes low, fashion goes high, and Sophie’s sequins are all over the place.
Jess Wood shares her advice for embracing the OTT human glitterball trend. Pictured: Dress, £25, hm.com; heeled sandals, £42, next.co.uk; bag, £450, Gedebe at fenwick.co.uk
Dress, £197, lkbennett.com; heeled sandals, £42, and champagne flute, £46 (set of four), next.co.uk; earrings. £245, laurence-coste.com
Dress, £280, essentiel-antwerp. com; shoes, £140, reiss.com; earrings, £345, laurence-coste. com; cocktail shaker, £25, anthropologie.com
As a child of the 1980s, when I see sequins, I think of Dynasty and the glitter-off between Alexis Colby and Krystle Carrington. With every episode the sparkle increased, as did the catfights. An evening outfit without sequins was clearly not fit for purpose. As a result, I spent most of my early adulthood in sequinned mini-dresses.
More recently, we’ve had Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly to look to. Counting sequins on Strictly is like counting grains of sand on a beach or atoms in the universe.
But until this year, that OTT human glitterball trend was out of favour. Instead, it was all about styling sparkle with separates, such as sequinned trousers dressed down with a blazer and tee.
Jumpsuit, £40, warehouse. co.uk; heels, £185, reiss.com; earrings, £295, Jennifer Behr, and cuff, £225, Alexis Bittar, both at fenwick.co.uk
Top, £79, and skirt, £89, whistles.com; heeled sandals, £42, next.co.uk; earrings, £155, Soru, and ring, £65, Shourouk, both at fenwick.co.uk
Dress, £78, and bag, £28, next.co.uk; belt, £60, essentiel-antwerp.com; heels, £185, reiss.com; earrings, £5, hm.com; coupe glass, £14, anthropologie.com
As always, however, we didn’t know what we had until it was gone. So today, the head-to-toe look is back. For a fresh twist, try sequinned co-ords, such as this green tee and midi from Whistles (third from right).
For a hint of Studio 54, Warehouse’s strapless jumpsuit (middle) is a Diana Ross dream, as is Essentiel Antwerp’s mini-dress (third from left). If you’ve overindulged, either would work over a black tee to camouflage the dreaded arm wobble.
As for me, I can’t resist this midnight blue number from Next (second from right).
So whack on the heels, if the kitchen floor can stand it, and get the nightclub vibe in something outrageously sparkly. The best thing about this New Year’s Eve? ‘Getting home’ means nothing more arduous than staggering upstairs. I’ll drink to that.
Top, £39, mintvelvet. co.uk; trousers, £12.99, zara.com; heels, £185, reiss.com; clutch, £75, lkbennett.com