Join the sparkle set: why sequins are all we want for Christmas
Melissa Twigg reveals how to wear them to full effect and where to find the best on the high street
Like ordering a frothy, colourful cocktail with a jazzy paper umbrella on the side, a woman wearing sequins is signalling one thing – that she is out to have some fun and wants everyone to know it.
Perhaps it is no coincidence that in this winter of discontent, sequins are scattered across the high street. Only hedge-fund managers and oligarchs can afford to heat their homes – but after two Christmases of pandemicrelated chaos, we’re determined to enjoy ourselves, and we’ve got the outfits to prove it.
Hence why partywear sales are up by 97 per cent year on year and sequins are the second most searched-for term on Marks & Spencer’s website. In fact, so rapidly are sequins selling out at brands like Essentiel Antwerp, Hush and Mint Velvet that getting your hands on them is proving more difficult than you might think.
M&S has sold 10,000 sequin tops since September (5,700 of which were in the past three days) while demand for their sequin midi-skirt is up 325 per cent year on year. They’ve also nearly sold out of their look-at-me silversequinned three-piece suit – and we’re not even halfway through November.
“Embracing the festive season is really important, especially this year,” says fashion and behavioural psychologist Prof Carolyn Mair. “What we wear helps us feel good about ourselves and boosts our mood and confidence. Many of us are experiencing problems from the cost of living crisis to the anxiety-inducing news – so we reach out for shiny fabrics and of course, the shiniest of all fabrics, sequins.”
Admittedly, some women embracing glitter include many who probably aren’t worried about rising prices: Heidi Klum, Brooke Shields, Olivia Wilde and Amber Valletta – all of whom, apart from Wilde, are over 40. Meanwhile, at the Glamour Awards this week, Trinny Woodall, 58, dazzled in an all-sequin outfit.
“Sequins are the little black dress of the festive season,” says fashion writer Emily Jane Johnston, who last week released a video styling that M&S sequin three-piece four ways. “Sequins are universally flattering for every age, shape and size. Embrace the sequin maxi, three-piece suit or wide-leg trousers. Sequins bring smiles. They can do no wrong.”
Yes, this year it’s not enough to have a patch of sparkle on your jumper – what you want is an over-the-top, drowning-in-sequins outfit that would make a Parisian tut in disbelief if you walked into a café in St Germain wearing it.
Although, while there may be a camp quality to sequins that is very British – some of the most stylish women in France are swapping their perennial navy blue looks for a little razzle-dazzle. Lola Rykiel is the granddaughter of fashion designer Sonia Rykiel and her boutique, Pompom, on Paris’s Left Bank, is filled with sequin tops and dresses. “Personally, I would wear a longsleeved sequinned top with loose jeans and ballet flats for dinner with friends,” says Rykiel. “You have to be comfortable first and beautiful second – that’s the rule my grandmother always taught me.”
Of course, we should all wear our sequins however we wish, but in general they look better with a looser silhouette rather than anything too tight – the laid-back slouchiness of flared trousers, a high-neck top or a midi-skirt contrasts with the highoctane glamour of the material itself. I prefer jackets or skirts in silver or other metallics, but a pink or blue can look equally good.
However you wear them, remember that sequins are about optimism. They’re eye-catching, yes, but more importantly, they’re inherently cheerful. And what could be a better note on which to end a difficult year?