No Sparkle During the Day

Vintage 1980s sequinned silk top I read somewhere that a lady should never wear sparkle during the day. Pffft, I thought.

Then I found in Ines de la Fressange’s book Parisian Chic the declaration that a sequinned dress was a siren of the fashion world that should be avoided at all costs. That was the stupidest thing I ever read.

In 1957, Alison Adburghan, a retail historian and journalist said, ‘The ugly can be elegant; the vulgar never. And vulgarity nearly always begins with sequins. When sequins fall into the wrong hands, all appears to be lost and there is no saying what may happen.’ [A to Z of Style, by Amy de la Haye] Now, this was said in 1957. I contend that there are much more vulgar crimes against style today than the mere wearing of sequins in daylit hours.

It’s just when you look like a Christmas tree from head to toe that we venture into vulgar territory. 

As long as said sequinned item isn’t an overtly evening garment (such as an evening gown), one can easily work sequins into the daytime wardrobe. If you’re feeling nervous about attracting too much attention, try an accessory such as a scarf, or a bit of sequinned trim on the sleeves of a top, for instance. Away from the office it’s even easier – don a sequinned top with jeans, or other plain basic item. A delicate chiffon or knit top with a bit of sequin trim would look fantastic with a pair of trousers made from tweed or plain woven suiting – a classic case of contrasting the feminine and masculine, the whimsical with the practical, the yin and yang.

A judicious sprinkle of glitter is fun. It’s just when you look like a Christmas tree from head to toe that we venture into vulgar territory. 

Here are some fun ideas.