On the 6th Day of Christmas...

... this blogger gave to thee...

... six party dresses...

... five gold rings!..

... four favoured films...

... three rosy bubbles...

... two iterations...

... and a tale for tugging heart strings.

We're going to suspend disbelief a little for this posting, because it was supposed to be uploaded before New Years and, well, it's most definitely not any more. But it's still an excuse to spend a little too long looking at dresses and imagining when on earth someone would wear that particular outfit.

I'm not someone who spends a lot of time clothes shopping, or looking for fancy things to wear. I wear pretty much the same things winter, spring, summer and autumn and my biggest ambition clothes wise for 2020 is to clone my favourite coat. Which means making a pattern and sewing a new one myself because I've never found one I like as much, and I'm honestly scared that I'm going to wear it to death.

Wearing clothes to death being my M.O., but that's thrifty and environmentally friendly, right?

It does however mean if I ever need to go to an actual party or event, I would have to go shopping and start the soul crushing search for an outfit that I feel happy in and doesn't break the bank. But this post isn't about my crippling anxiety and lack of confidence when it comes to how I look in clothes, this is fantasy shopping for party time, and this year I'm going for six particular scenarios...

1) Staying in on New Years Eve/Day with family
2) Staying in on New Years Eve/Day with a group of friends at their home
3) Going to a friends New Years Eve party
4) Going to a public/street party
5) Going on somewhere where only a Little Black Dress will do
6) Going to a big fancy shindig

So, in the words of Corrine Leigh of Threadbangers:

Let's face it, New Years Eve at home should be all about pyjamas, duvets, a glass of your favourite tipple and if you're very lucky, a sausage roll or two because it's New Years and it's still a party. But seeing this is designated pyjama time, let's call this a New Years Day outfit, when you've got family coming over for the day, and, seeing it's a new year and while you're not quite a new you yet, you're still going to kick it off well, make an effort, dress up and feel well put together, even a tad glam.

For me, that means wearing my jeans with a sparkly jumper, as much glittery makeup as I can manage to put on my eyes without them watering, whilst also still letting myself sleep in and have time to get ready before the family arrive. Though, while I don't tend to wear the sparkly jumpers every day, year round, you'll have to fight me and claw the glittering makeup out of my cold dead hands before I refrain to wearing almost every day.

This year, if I'd been confident, I'd have wanted to wear this outfit from Joanie Clothing, comprising of the Sylvie Silver Linings Jumper and Hannah Sequin Skirt, which while it's not a dress, is still what I'd choose. I've been pretty much in love with this outfit since I saw it on the website, I've wanted a sequin pencil skirt in my life for as long as I can remember, and this is exactly the kind of thing I would wear for special occasions.

Fuck that. I'd wear it daily if I was brave and actually wore skirts anymore. I love the casual sweatshirt and sequin skirt aesthetic.


Link || Sylvie Silver Lining's Slogan Jumper from Joanie Clothing
Link || Hannah Sequin Pencil Skirt in Silver from Joanie Clothing

Outfit two is for when you're going to be staying in with friends and want to dress up, but don't want to go full sequin fantasy because you're still just staying in an lounging on the sofa having a drink and chattering. Instead leopard print devoré is of course the ideal option!

Normally on this list I pick way too many sequined or beaded or glitzy dresses, and there will be more of those, don't worry. However, I saw this Marie Devoré Leopard Dress from Boden on the run up to Christmas and fell in love. It's one of those dresses that's casual, but fancy, it's not glitzy but the velvet has this expensive lush sheen and the colour, while it doesn't necessarily scream Christmas, again because of the sheen and the fabric is warm and comforting in the winter. Plus there's nothing wrong with a bit of leopard print.

A lot of my reasoning for picking this dress - other than gut reaction - is about the fabric. Devoré or burnout, is a fabric patterning technique in which a mixed fibre fabric, most commonly velvet which contains both natural and synthetic fibres, has patterns either stencilled or painted on its surface with an etching solution. The solution is allowed to sit and the chemicals dissolve the natural fibres they are in contact with, leaving a raised pattern in the untouched material upon a sheer or lightweight synthetic woven fabric below.

The technique was first made popular in the 19th Century, and the height of its popularity was around the 1920's. However it had a revival during the 80's and 90's and while I don't always love the patterns this kind of fabric comes in, I remember so much of this being around when I was a kid, I've always had a soft spot (no pun intended) for the texture and that lovely sheen.

This is kind of a grown up dress in a lot of ways, but I think if I was going to be having a semi casual evening with friends, but because it's New Years I wanted to be a dressier, but not uncomfortable, this is the kind of dress I'd go for. It's dressy, but not too dressy, and I'd still feel pretty really pretty.


Link || Marie Devoré Dress in Copper Red, Chic Leopard from Boden

Dress three is for when you've got a proper party to go too. One where there'll be lots of people, maybe you're at someones house or somewhere else, but it's a legitimate party and somewhere you want to look every bit the sequin fantasy, but in a cute unstructured way. We're still going for something that doesn't feel too dressy, but feels more like a proper party dress.

To me, of course, party dress means sequins and this rose gold one from ASOS by Forever U is kind of perfect. Actually it's just kind of perfect full stop. This was the first dress that made the list. I had it saved on Pinterest from basically day one of my looking at dresses (back in November!) and I've been pathetically in love with it from the moment I saw it.

If I was going to a proper New Years/Christmas/any kind of party, I'd want to be this girl. This is my sequin fantasy dress this year and I would kill to be able to wear something like this, once, ever!


Link || Forever U Cami Strap Sequin Dress with Bow Detail in Rose Gold via ASOS

Outfit four needs a coat. Maybe a teddy bear or bouclé coat? But something thick and warm, to keep you cosy while you're heading to the streets for Hogmanay, watching the fireworks and bar hopping.

Okay, a sheer dress is probably not ideal for being outside, you'd most likely have frozen your bits off if you'd warn this dress out most years in Scotland, but we have had an unseasonable warm winter so far. (I miss cold, frost and snow!)

Even the fact that this doesn't include any sparkles hasn't put me off thinking that this is the definition of a party dress. If the last dress for a full blown sequin fantasy, then this is a whimsical dark fairy dress fantasy and that's an aesthetic I can fully support.

Normally, when I research this post, despite its popularity, I have shops that I go too ranging from high street to high end, but I wouldn't really look on site like Shein because from what I've seen, while they're relatively reasonably priced, there's a high chance that the image of what you've ordered isn't actually an image of what you're ordering. Maybe I'm being a snob, but out of curiosity I had a look on the site and kept seeing - and pinning - listing for this one dress.

Now, I can't find any particular designer or dress that this exact design is inspired by, but to me this looks like a dupe for the skirts and dresses by Lirika Matoshi that I had as my final choice for 2018's Day 6.

I love those skirts and dresses, they're absolute whimsical loveliness, but at £150 up, I'd probably be better trying to make my own, or buying this dress from Shein (any many, many other websites as it turns out) because it's a pretty nice alternative, and if they "customer" images are anything to go by, it's maybe worth a punt for under £30.


Link || Star Flock Mesh Overlay Strapless Bustier Dress via Shein
Link || Lirika Matoshi || Website || Etsy || Instagram || Facebook

Party scenario five is the one where only a Little Black Dress (LBD) will do. When I was thinking about reasons to get dressed up at the holidays, one option would be if you were lucky enough to have a date. That could be with your significant other, someone you're dating, someone you'd like to date... any of the above you're lucky and I hate you... but a LBD is sometimes just the right kind of dress, period.

It also wouldn't be one of my lists if I didn't include a ludicrously expensive Needle & Thread dress, because I love them! They make me happy and this one, while maybe not the most exciting, is the dress that when I looked at in my short list, I kept coming back too looking for excuses to include it, and specifically thinking that that's a date dress. If wishing made it so.

Obviously, it's a fucking expensive date dress, but it has that gorgeous silhouette and all that pretty floral beading and I kept trying to knock it off the list, then kept putting it back on. It earned its place and it's the prettiest LBD at the ball. Now I'd just need to rob a back to afford it, get a full body transplant to wear it and find some poor sucker to go on a date with. Again, wishful thinking.


Link || Needle & Thread Snowflake Prom Dress in Ballet Black from Needle & Thread

Last dress is for your full blown formal New Years Eve party. One where you need to make an impression, show that you can actually be an adult and still enjoy a sequin fantasy moment without being either grossly under dressed or go too far into princess dress territory.

Or bridesmaid's territory, which seems to be who the brand Maya Deluxe, who created this dress, advertise their products towards. But who cares? If you find something you like, whether it's labelled Bridal, Plus, Maternity, Tall, Mens, Womens or whatever, that doesn't mean you can't wear it and look phenomenal. And anyone who says you shouldn't wear something, or shames you for it can get knotted. Clothes are clothes, as long as you're not being a prick to other people, who cares what you wear. You do you.

Mini rant over, back to this gorgeous, heavily embellished bandeau dress which is the kind of dress I think of in films, when the shy plain girl walks into the fancy party in a big, oversized wool coat. She looks around nervously, all out of place, then take off her coat and she has her My Fair Lady, Pretty Woman, She's All That, Never Been Kissed, Cinderella reveal moment and is now the prettiest girl at the party...

... it always helps that in those films the "plain" girl is clearly already stunning. Which always makes the ugly ducking transformation easier. But hell, let's keep that lovely (damaging) stereotype alive that "she'll only ever be happy and find a man and be everything she can be unless we make her beautiful". Because you're only allowed to be happy and successful if you're gorgeous, right?

My point is, to me this is a wow dress, and if I was going to a fancy party and didn't want to go for a full on princess dress, I'd be happy with something like this. I love the beading and sequin patterns, particularly how it's outlining the bustier and giving the dress a more defined waist, while having them concentrating there also helping to soften the deep navy blue material with the silver and taking a standard looking blue dress to something special. This is just beautiful to me.


Link || Maya Deluxe Bandeau Heavily Embellished Dress with Fishtail Train via Zalando


It would be nice once to (a) have a reason to get dressed up and (b) have a figure that would allow me to feel comfortable if that reason ever presented itself.

Let's face facts though, I spent New Years Eve at home with my family in leggings, a baggy jumper and thermal socks. Then I spent New Years Day with my family, but in jeans and a sparkly jumper, and thermal socks. Dressing up being way too much effort for just spending time with my family.

(Sorry guys, I love you but not that much)

This year I almost made more of an effort. I actually bought a skirt to wear for Christmas. It's hanging in my room, gunmetal pleats smothered in silver glitter... but I was too chicken to wear it. In fact, I actually ended up buying a second skirt as well, a grey knitted one that will need industrial shape wear for me to wear out, but I really loved and seeing both were on sale, I'd have regretted not buying them.

The important thing to know is my best clothing buy of the season was the fleece lined socks I bought from the supermarket. They're so soft and warm! And to round the year out, I also taught myself how to knit socks in 2019, which has nothing to do with anything, but was something I wanted to try and seeing I didn't do a sock post like last year, this is the logical place to mention it. So maybe next year I'll still spend New Years in pyjamas, but I'll be able to wear them with homemade socks.

Merry belated Christmas and New Year! Part seven as soon as I find some ruby slippers and click my heels together...

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Listening: When The Party's Over - Billie Eilish