PARTYWEAR TO TAKE YOU THROUGH TO NEXT YEAR

Considering I go to a lot of events for work, you’d think I might be a little more equipped with evening and partywear, but it’s not an area I often invest in as I (sadly) don’t wear it every day. Yet it’s been on my mind obviously more and more what with the current season, New Year’s Eve around the corner and realising that I should be ready, should I suddenly get invited to a last minute fancy event. Fortuitously, a couple of weeks ago I was invited back to the UK by Farfetch to visit the newly opened Heckfield Place and to spend the day dressing up in dream partywear. They’d hired out the top floor suite and lined the bedroom with sparkly, velvet and feather-trimmed dresses, mules, bow-adorned shoes and fancy fringed accessories. Basically a dream come true - so I made the most of it!

Unless it’s 25 degrees and over, my legs rarely see the light of day (unless they’re swathed in dernier +10 black tights and then covered with knee or thigh-high boots, giving them some protection from the elements) - remaining in hibernation until the following summer. But dressing a little sexier is something I’ve been working on this year, this was the perfect excuse to get my (albeit very white) pins out and dress up! So I went for a short, very dressed up (way more than I’d normally have the confidence to wear) short black Magda Butrym dress with a large feathery embellishment and a hot pink velvet wrap dress by Forte Forte that still allowed me to show some leg. Both dresses, although offering two very different looks, are perfect for New Year’s Eve, depending on the amount of leg you’re comfortable with showing - but take my advice, it is the one night a year where you have an excuse to dress up as much as possible, so go for more leg, and if not make sure the dress comes in colourful plush velvet or sequins. Life is short. And both these dresses will take you through any events you might have coming up through the next few months. You might have just have, for example a winter wedding or a fancy birthday party marked in the calendar in the next couple of months, so I’ve put together my picks of dresses, shoes and accessories - many of which are on sale, to make sure you are suitably dressed for any occasion that calls for an over-the-top outfit! Enjoy, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

DRESSES: