Don’t panic over your last outfit of 2023, here's our guide to every style move you could make wherever you're heading this New Year's Eve. If in doubt, just add some glitz and a swipe of lipstick.
The black tie bash
Sodalite dress, £365, Ganni, Harlow pump, £440, Dearfrances, 1990s vintage clip on earrings, £45, Susan Caplan Frame Granny purse, £215, Viviennewestwood, L’aura choker, £950, Alighieri
Sometimes a dress code is helpful. Black tie might seem like a bit of a bore, but you can at least feel smug in the face of those sad souls on Instagram we see suffering the indignity of “fancy” dress. Anyway, who doesn’t want an excuse to get fully glammed up? You might not have scored an invitation to this year’s Fashion Awards, but hey, we can all make our own red carpets’ right? This is the spirit in which you should embrace a head to toe look with no compromises. A full skirted satin maxi dress - yes. Coordinate your accessories for full marks, this isn’t the time to mix and match with off-kilter quirks. This, in the words of Love Actually's Martine McCutcheon, is your moment.
Out out
Pink drawstring track pants, £158, Needles at Ssense, Avanti C unisex trainers, £150, Fenty x Puma, Le Bisou pink bag, £600, Jacquemus, Mytheresa, Lucy Williams Chunky Medium Entwine hoops, £115, Missoma, Hofsjökull bomber jacket, £565, 66 North
Single-handedly planning on reviving late night London? Congratulations! Style wise there’s nothing worse than not being able to dance, so unless you have Strictly-level skills in a heel ditch them. Equally that whole staggering home bedraggled in bodycon feels very, not now. Tracksuits and trainers becoming A Thing will save you from all that bother. Add glitz with a smattering of blingy jewels and a shiny shoe, of course. Rihanna’s latest Fenty x Puma collection has a lovely metallic trainer which is ideal for schlepping around IKEA, sorry, Drumsheds. And finally, outerwear is key, try a cosy cool bomber to keep you warm when negotiating your Tottenham Hale exit.
A very chic dinner party
Sequinned Midi Skirt, £35.99, Zara, Button knit cardigan, £49.99, Mango, Strictly Court Shoe, £275, Russell and Bromley, Presley Baroque pearl earrings, £190, Joolz by Martha Calvo, Matches, Ballerina Palazzo bag, £215, Rosantica at Matches
Dinner parties are the ideal environment in which to unleash your prime party pieces and shoes you can’t stand in for more than twenty minutes. The overall mood wants to be festive but not over the top, you might like to employ the phrase high/low, but we’d rather not be so pedestrian. You’ll want a striking earring to light your face at the table - a jaunty pearl is an excellent option here. Balance out a sequin cocktail skirt with a chic knit in the same colour for a no-brainer way to look expertly pulled together.
A big country house ‘do
Velvet Peplum jacket, £1,500, Liberowe, Net-a-porter, Corvus bag, £665, Neous, Amary pearl earrings, £125, By Alona, Crepe maxi dress, £180, Leslie Amon, Selfridges, Safari heel, £169, Tony Blanca, Revolve
Here, we’re taking a sartorial cue somewhere between Keira Knightly in Atonement (a reference that is frankly never wrong) and Venetia from Saltburn. Think glamorous but also slightly naughty. Sexy maxi sheer gown? Absolutely. Pair with a jewel tone dollop of velvet (you’ll need this for midnight garden excursions) and some glitzy impressively-sized earrings. A lick of red lipstick also wouldn’t be out of the question, if you are unsure, MAC’s Ruby Woo has never let anyone down. Finally choose a shoe you can easily slip off for 4am whiskeys on the sofa.
The best seat in your house
Ada Geelong Cardigan, £335 And Daughter, Winter Bio Checkiang slide, £195, Mou, Green socks, £3.90, Uniqlo, Recycled Cashmere track pants, £168, Pangaia ADIDAS X WALES BONNER Track top, £280, Adidas x Wales Bonner, Good Hood
You have correctly remembered that New Year’s Eve is the very worst of nights to go out on. Amateur-hours, etc. But a Jools Holland pre-record Hootenanny on the sofa needn’t be stylistically bleak. Use this opportunity to pull out your best trackie and pop on a cosy cool slipper-cum-shoe. A colourful sock is always cheering when padding up to bed just as the neighbours start their corner shop firework “spectacular”.
