WHERE — London
PHOTOGRAPHY — Sam Flaherty
IN COLLABORATION WITH — Selfridges

‘Tis the season to dress up. A quick guide to party dressing, because sometimes there’s nothing wrong with being the best dressed person in the room.

I, like so many women, have an aversion to being the most dressed-up person in the room. But sometimes the occasion calls to be just that bit extra. And if you can’t dress up and look fabulous now when ’tis the season, when can you? So I recently ducked into Selfridges and found a stack of Ganni dresses, indulged in my own montage of designer-dress try-on, and came away with something so far from my current knitwear/comfort dressing repertoire I’m pretty sure I was a magpie in a last life.

Party dresses are a lazy dresser’s arsenal

A killer dress really is an instant outfit. No need to fuss around deciding if that slinky top goes with those pants, or if that skirt will dig into your waist during dinner. The party dress requires minimal effort, with maximum reward. Pull it on, pick a pair of shoes, and voila, you’re done.

Repeat after me: comfortable shoes only

Not only are low heels or boots infinitely more comfortable than a sky high heel, they also add a element of cool to a statement dress. You want to look good, and hobbling home with sore feet is never a good look.

It’s all about the fabric

Much like how linen dresses and cotton shirts evoke a calm feeling of being on summer vacation, getting in the party spirit is a whole lot easier when you’re dressed for the occasion. Velvet, sequins, slinky silks and satins are all fabrics guaranteed to make you feel dressed up.

Stick to your usual style, but turn it up a notch

Wear a lot of neutral colours? Opt for a slinky nude slip dress. Prefer not to flash too much skin? Long sleeve designer dresses and ankle skimming are your best friend. Prefer black to bold hues? Stick to blacks, greys and navy, but mix up the fabric with sequins or velvet. The last thing you want to do is feel like you’re playing a character; you just want to feel like a fanciest version of your usual self.

Wearing: vintage necklace, Missoma necklace, Ganni dress from Selfridges, Paul Andrew heels