Tis the Season for Sequins

Tis the Season for Sequins...

This holiday season, sequins are ubiquitous and available at all prices. For me, it started at Topshop in NYC, early November: a cobalt blue sequin tunic caught my fantasy for a holiday party. Typically a size 4, the size 8 fit like a “stuffed sausage,” as my Grandmother would say, and there were no larger sizes. Let the games begin. DKNY SoHo had a cute, short sleeve t-shirt covered in sequins in assorted rich jewel tones. On the mannequin they featured a silver grey one with a thick, wooly grey infinity scarf that kinda dressed it down, more my style. At $145, it had potential, but I wasn’t motivated enough to buy. Next stop London, where I saw more sequin tanks, tops & dresses in colors of the season. While walking through a mall with my sister-in-law, I saw a multi-colored jewel tone tunic-tank for under 20 quid, translation, under 40 bucks in US dollars. There wasn’t time to try it on and I passed. Is it possible after seeing so many sequin styles I was over it before the parties began?

At the first holiday party I attended, my dear friend arrived wearing a champagne colored sequin top with skinny jeans and knee high boots. The color was extremely flattering on her fair skin, with blonde hair. We laughed that I could have been wearing sequins as well. (I eventually became determined to wear a relatively new outfit I wore once earlier in the fall, a deep purple silk top and lapis jacket with black faux fur color.) At the party there were red sequins, black sequins, silver sequins abound. My husband whispered he was glad I wasn’t wearing sequins. (Unfortunately for him, he was with me on all the shopping outings, evaluating assorted sequin tops.)

The next holiday party was a shopping event for a charity. Being on a Thursday night, I had come straight from a busy day, and was dressed in black cashmere long sweater over leggings, YSL gold trimmed boots, all accented with appropriate gold jewelry. When I walked in I was blinded by the array of yes, sequins! The host was wearing blue sequin top with a black skirt, there was another black sequin tank top, and a jewelry designer wore a brushed gold Nanette Lepore dress with liquid leather tights and booties. Stunning. (Ironically, I tried that same dress on in Las Vegas and passed thinking I would wear it only once, because it was such a statement.)

And that my dear friends was the hesitation, investing in sequin attire is yes of the moment, but do we want to be in that massive fashion trap whether it was $40 or $540? Would you wear sequins after the holidays and feel foolish? If you wore sequins again next holiday season, wouldn’t that be “so last year?”