Holly White road tests... Sequinned Clothing
Glitterbug: Holly wears Silver Sequin skirt, €355, Haute Hippy, Brown Thomas; Black vest €9 Dunnes Stores. Make-up by Gráinne Duffy for MAC Cosmetics at Brown Thomas
Saturday November 07 2009
Sequins are a hot trend for winter 2009. They graced the catwalks of just about everyone, from Miu Miu and Yves Saint Laurent to Marchesa, Phillip Lim and Sonia Rykiel, and they're now taking a front-row seat among high-street offerings.
In time for the second recessionary Christmas, sequin dresses, leggings, blazers and minis provide a much-needed escape from the doom and gloom, if only temporarily.
They've been brewing for quite some time now. Keen fashion followers will remember the sheer audacity of 40s-style sequin knickers designed by Chanel, which hit the catwalk in autumn 2006. Editors were taken aback but keen. The shock factor worked and they were in every glossy magazine. However, the public stayed on the fence -- they weren't ever going to be a reality, save for Lady Gaga types.
Victoria walked the catwalk for her DVB jeans line, four months pregnant with Cruz, with a non-existent bump concealed in sequin leggings in 2006. She also wore them for the Spice Girls reunion photocall in June 2007, so she was a fan long before you or I. Celebrities aplenty were on the trend. During the documentary of Michael Jackson's ill-fated This Is It tour, we are granted a brief interview with his costume designers, who remark that so great is the sequin and crystal count on his clothing that they had to wear sunglasses while stitching them on.
I have eventually caught on to the trend and hit the shops for less blinding but equally fabulous garb. Seeing as sequins are everywhere at the moment, I decided to compare the high and low ends of the market. Penneys has revisited the disco years, and glitter and sequins are everywhere in the women's section.
Cheryl Cole, the darling of the moment, was seen out for dinner with the hubby decked head to toe in black, save for a silver sequin blazer from Les Chiffoniers. Hers cost €500; the Penneys variety, which conveniently and strangely is machine washable, costs a mere €35 and is quite fabulous.
I decked myself out in a Penneys gold beret and went off on an evening visit to my granny. She marvelled at the glitter on my hat -- "Just make sure someone doesn't steal it off your head," she smiled.
It was far too early to go home, despite the pitch-black evening, so I headed into O'Donoghues on Baggot Street. Dara O Briain and Ryan Tubridy were quaffing beverages. While chatting to Ryan, he remarked that I looked different, but failed to notice the disco ball on my head. More dramatic sequin action was required.
Halloween night arrived and, shunning the slutty costumes that girls from age 16 up seem to prance about in, I donned a vintage tiara and a Haute Hippie mini. Into town the girls and I went and I felt practically radiant.
This time last year, on Halloween night, I was a sobbing mess; being 25 wasn't all fun. This year I feel glittery and princess-like and couldn't be happier.
Bring on the bling, and the good times please.
- Holly White
Irish Independent
