Yes, you CAN wear sequins to the office!
SEQUINS, in case you hadn’t noticed, are having a major makeover. It’s all part of the Don’t save It For Best revolution.
all the things you thought of as strictly for parties, or weddings, or after dark . . . well, not any more, including sequins.
The idea of everyday Best got going with Gucci and its creative director alessandro Michele tearing up the rule book: clashing silk prints, with golf socks, with embroidered satin for day or night. The Gucci philosophy is that the right time to wear your rhinestones and handpainted chiffon is all the time — and it’s caught on.
If you look at what’s on the high street rails, alongside the parkas and the suiting, it’s velvet, slippery leopard print, satin — and sequins for day or night. Yes sequins, the sparkliest and blingiest of all the dressing-up options, are now something you might wear to the office. That’s the plan.
naturally, we’re suspicious. We’re not all Gucci girls. Most of us like to keep things pretty simple.
everyday Best fans, however, would say that is precisely where we are going wrong. You can spend your life in safe navy and grey, and a bit of olive green, or you can live a little and change the way you think about your everyday look.
Introduce a shot of the Gucci spirit is the message. no one is suggesting a Jessica rabbit dress and heels.
This winter, designers are moving away from glossy structured cocktail wear and putting sequins on simple pieces such as T-shirts, shirts, sweaters and skirts.
THE idea is that sequins are too good — too flattering — to save for just a few nights of the year. That said, sequins in the day are like alcohol on aeroplanes: a little goes a long way.
The sequins have to be small (no discs); not too sparkly; and colour is crucial — we’re not talking about gold or black or those rainbow shades that signal the party season. Daytime sequins come in blue and oyster, pewter and bronze and occasionally silver.
By far the easiest way to wear sequins for day is scattered over our favourite staples: a navy shirt with a cross-hatched navy sequined collar (£ 64.95,
massimodutti.com); a dark sweater with a dusting of pale sequins (£75, phase-eight.com); or even a jumper with sequin stripes (now £39.20, warehouse.
co.uk) which would look great under a trouser suit.
a surprise bullseye in the sequins-for-the-office category is a white T-shirt (£25, debenhams. com) worn under a jacket or cardigan, or, alternaively a dark sequin top. The needle & Thread cami (£ 165,needleandthread. ) has bare shoulders, but no- one needs to know that until you do your phonebox trick at 6pm, whip off the jacket, change your shoes, and shazam! You are ready to head out.
likewise, a sequin jacket (Verys jacket, £437, zadig- et
voltaire. com) over a cream shirt with black trousers works because the colour is muted and the style perfectly plain.
Monsoon do a simple buttonless jacket (£ 99,
monsoon. co. uk) which is bright silver, but dressed down with a white T-shirt and navy trousers, it looks chic and office-friendly.
One-third sequins is probably the maximum you can get away with before dark, and the rest of your outfit needs to be dialled down.
If you’re wearing a sequin skirt to the office (£228, jcrew.
com or £69.99, mango.com), your best bet would be to team it with an oversized poloneck sweater and boots.
Whatever you do, steer clear of racy splits. sequins, plus sober and simple, is the best way to avoid looking like you never made it home from the party last night.
Finally, don’t even consider sequin trousers. They’re a devil to sit down in and you’ll boil; lined sequin clothes are hotter than sheepskin.