What are you aiming for with your party look? “Simple yet devastating”? Now, no prizes for guessing who totally nailed this look the other day. When Marc Jacobs threw Kate Moss a little book-signing fete, she wore a floor-skimming, long-sleeved leopard-print column. There is a quiet confidence about a fully covered up look which trumps a microdress every time. Also: no fake tan issues. Winning.
£65, topshop.com Photograph: Topshop
Let me be quite clear about chunky platform shoes. Especially ones with a dinky peeptoe. Especially in shades of so-called nude. These shoes make you look like a golf Wag. Those poor women, crying on the inside, forced to smile in order to showcase their expensive tooth-whitening. So let’s ditch the chunky platforms. The so-wrong-it’s-brilliant shoe of the moment is the slim-soled white stiletto as championed by Gwyneth Paltrow on the red carpet, Phoebe Philo on the Céline catwalk, and Alexandra Shulman and Carine Roitfeld on the front row.
£120, kurtgeiger.com Photograph: Kurt Geiger
A “coord” – as in co-ordinated – is a two-piece that matches. It’s a suit, but since wearing a suit is enough to get you barred from any cocktail emporium worth its fleur de sel, the name-change is crucial: separates, but with attitude. It projects confidence and energy, both of which are social catnip. Try it, and mix-and-match pairings will seem lily-livered by comparison.
Jacket, £213, trousers, £133, sandro-paris.com Photograph: Sandro
The crucial new consideration when choosing your party look is, of course: "Will I Instagram well?" Those filters are fabulous for flattering the complexion and maximising bone structure, but they have a tendency to wash out your outfit. To be an Instagram hottie, your go-to accessory is the party collar. Jewelled, pearled, studded, lace, neon - or all of the above - the party collar is the necklace for those who take partying seriously. Because those people always look good in the pictures.
£18, asos.com Photograph: Asos
The LBD is still the alpha female of the party jungle. Not wearing a party dress to a party can leave you feeling a bit … beta. Unless, that is, you wear a jumpsuit. The best jumpsuits combine the suckerpunch impact of a good dress with the ease of wearing trousers and jeans. Stella McCartney and Phoebe Philo – alpha fashion females – have both taken to wearing jumpsuits to high-profile parties. The best are black or metallic, and work brilliantly with an updo and high heels for laidback glamour. We’re calling this look the Saturday Night Onesie.
£59.99, zara.com Photograph: Zara
Jade and emerald have taken over from burgundy and claret as the chic festive palette. Two pointers: first, keep it clean. Just as a fir tree is way more chic with understated white lights than with a hotchpotch of baubles, so a green dress is more elegant if you leave the Christmas styling low-key. Second, look at Keira Knightley in Atonement. Way to wear a green dress and no mistake.
£299, bymalenebirger.com Photograph: Steen Evald/Malene Birger
Leather can be tricky. You aim for understated-Parisian-rock’n’roll and end up looking a bit Girls Aloud. Leather as a trim is a failsafe solution, having undisputed fashion pedigree from Christopher Kane’s catwalk. If you brave a full-on leather look - trousers, skirt or dress – then keep your hair low-key and pay extra attention to the no-chunky-platform rule.
£19.99, newlook.com Photograph: New Look
Every party season has a socially acceptable girl-on-the-pull look. Last year it was a very short skirt styled in the Alexa school of wholesome preppiness, with thick tights and Mary Janes. This year, sheer is the new short. Strategically demure sheer panels on a velvet dress or skirt are ideal: graphic in both senses. Be sure to think the underwear through in advance.
£112, reiss.com Photograph: Reiss
The festive accessory that defined 2011 was the kitsch woodland animal on the mantelpiece, and our retro Christmas jumpers were the perfect complement. But 2012 is more modern – home decor is all about an outsize star in the fireplace, a vintage fairground light, or white pompoms over a doorway. So you can be confident that the cocktail trouser – smart, slick – is still happening. Wear with fabulous shoes and lipstick: for inspiration, see Caroline Issa, fashion editor and streetstyle blog star.
£130, by J Crew, net-a-porter.com Photograph: J Crew
Now, call me boringly practical, but I suggest you choose your coat based on the weather. On a crisp, twinkly, frosty night vintage-look faux fur can be fabulous, but it looks dreadful when soggy. For a party season kicking off while areas of the country are underwater, it just has to be a trench. Something about a trenchcoat makes people intrigued to see what you are wearing underneath: which is fine, because this will of course be fabulous (see notes one to nine, above).
£150, topshop.com Photograph: Topshop
