This time of year is curiously referred to as “party season”, but I’d wager that most of us actually go to more parties in the period when the sun rises at 4.30am rather than when it sets at 4.30pm. Of course, Christmas and new year is when family members fly in from all corners of the Earth, and as a result there is usually an abundance of food just, well, hanging around. And as we all know, a spread and loved ones are the base ingredients of a party. Or an intervention. Toe-mah-toh, toe-may-toh.
Still, I hate the dressing up for parties. First up, I think we can all agree there is no such thing as a day-to-night party look. At least, I’ve never been able to master it. My default sartorial mode is casual – I do almost everything in denim and I love all my jeans as if they were cousins – and I was raised to believe that when you go to a party, you bloody well go to a party.
Here’s what I want to look like at every party I go to: Diana Ross on stage in Vegas in the 80s. I’m talking big hair, big eyes, and sparkle, gloss and sheen everywhere. And the fact of the matter is that even the most laid-back and startup-cool office tends to frown if you turn up to work at 9am in a floor-length silver Dolce & Gabbana gown with a 3ft train. So, yeah. Ban all day-to-night fashion mag directives.
This “party season”, then, I have streamlined my party look, and can achieve it in a clean 20 minutes. I wear no makeup all day, so that when I do dial it up, it really shows. I go with loud lipstick (very dark or very bright), giant earrings and this, the true party miracle: a jumpsuit. Packable, foolproof glamour. See you at the bar.
