THE VELVET REVOLUTION
Once it was just for the party season. Now you can wear it any time
WE COULD all do with a bit of joy to get us through this most dreary of Novembers, so if the thought of spending the next few weeks in the same old joggers and sloppy sweaters is just too dispiriting, consider adding some day-time velvet to your lockdown loungewear.
More forgiving than corduroy, less itchy than wool and much cheaper than cashmere, it’s the perfect fabric for now — ticking the warm, soft, comfy factor, but crucially with added
wintry glamour. There’s a rich, sumptuousness to velvet that always gives your outfit, and mood, a boost.
While velvet might normally be your goto for Christmas parties, it can be dressed down for day-time, too. A floppy, wide-leg velvet suit (like the one pictured far left from Massimo Dutti) might just be the most comfortable working-from-home outfit ever. You’ll look and feel smart on those endless Zoom calls, but have the same comfort of a velour tracksuit.
Jumpsuits are an easy, no-hassle outfit to throw on, particularly on cold, dark mornings when assembling a ‘look’ is not exactly a priority — and you’d quite happily stay in your pyjamas.
The one pictured from Toast (second from right) is even called a ‘PJ Jumpsuit’: the wide, swingy cut and notched collar give it laidback pyjama vibes, but the midnight blue silk-blend velvet and mother-ofpearl buttons provide a seriously luxe lift.
Polo-necks are useful for dressing down smarter pieces and to ‘winterise’ dresses (Marks & Spencer does roll-necks in six colours at €18.95). Worn underneath Boden’s hot pink Lois velvet dress (third from right), a polo makes the outfit more casual.
Mixing velvet with your everyday fabric helps, too: try with cotton, jersey, denim (which looks great if you combine similar shades of blue), instead of say, shimmery satin or metallic jacquard. Save that for next month when, hopefully, we will be allowed out again to enjoy Christmas.