Pared back party dressing? No chance; 2017 is the year to go glitzy

I vote that we all go the full Joan Collins this party season. I know all about the whole practical ‘boardroom-to-bar’ thing, and how everyone says that all you need is a swish of lipstick and you’re Christmas-party-ready, but it’s been a long old 2017. To paraphrase Martine McCutcheon in Love Actually, if you can’t do all-out glamour at Christmas, then when can you?

I have been guilty in the past of being po-faced about looking properly glamorous, a jazzy pair of earrings being my meagre effort at registering at all on the glitz-o-meter. But it’s time to concede that it’s the woman in the sequinned, tinsel-tastic outfit with dazzling jewels who’s having more fun.

Eye-catching evening bags for party season

I mean, just look at Cindy, Naomi, Claudia et al shimmering on the Versace catwalk in golden chain mail last Milan Fashion Week. Or the picture that 70-something model Jan de Villeneuve has posted on Instagram of herself ice-skating in an outrageously gorgeous black-and-white marabou-feather jacket. Also, I don’t just mean the life-and-soul-of-the-party kind of fun, but the optimistic, life-affirming sort that comes from twirling in front of the bedroom mirror or sending a selfie to the girls on WhatsApp just because you look and feel fabulous.

If you’re hosting a do, use your power to enforce maximum glamour. A friend recently threw a 1970s-themed dinner party, so I found myself channeling The Good Life’s Margo Leadbetter in an Ossie Clark-ish swirl-printed vintage maxi dress, which I amped up further still with a fistful of knuckledusters.   

You may like to borrow from Marc Jacobs, who famously offered a wildly opulent diktat to guests for his book launch. It began, ‘STRICT DRESS-TO-KILL CODE WILL BE ENFORCED: FUR COATS OVER LINGERIE, LIP GLOSS, JERRY HALL SIDE-SWEPT HAIR…’, with a further 25 pointers to hammer home that a nice top and black trousers simply wouldn’t do.