Festive frocks: night-time glam

The festive season is almost upon us. I’m halfway through my festive reads (mostly Jenny Colgan books, with Calling Mrs Christmas by Carole Matthews thrown in, in case you were wondering) and have The Muppet Christmas Carol soundtrack accompanying my working days (through headphones, of course. The people I work with are lovely, but I’m not convinced they’d enjoy the 16th rendition of Marley and Marley by 3pm in the afternoon).

So, my thoughts have obviously turned to what to wear during the festivities, whether it’s a fancy ball, a casual day with the family, something utterly and deliciously festive, and just about everything in between.

I like to get ahead of myself and think of all eventualities, it gives me an excuse to buy new things.

I thought I’d start with something fancy, to brighten up what has thus far been a rather gloomy November day. This dress is from Gatsby Lady and it makes me feel more elegant than anything else I own.

Gatsby Lady creates beautifully glam 1920s style dresses, in straight and plus sizes. One of the things I love most about the brand is that on their catwalks and their websites there are women in a range of sizes wearing the clothes, so you get a much better idea of what it will look like on you.

I’ve always shied away from 1920s fashion, as previous experiments with flapper dresses have not worked out for me. However, this dress makes me feel tall and elegant, and I really like the embellished cape – it means I can gesture dramatically (and I love a dramatic gesture).

Being on the short side (I’m 5ft and-three-quarters-of-an-inch, in case you were wondering), I tend to steer clear of long dresses, as I don’t like dragging my clothes along the floor. As a result, I really like the dress’ elasticated waist, as it means I can tuck excess fabric under and not ruin the embellishment on the bottom of the dress (that’s right, it has beading and sparkle across the bottom too).

As I’ve gone for an uber-glamorous look, I’ve paired the dress with my sparkly, silver hairpiece from Pin Up Curl (it’s a thing of joy), a silver vintage evening bag and my super-duper sparkly wedding shoes from Agnes and Norman (they’re like a night sky made into a shoe).

So, for a super-glamorous Christmas event, I think this would be rather perfect. I actually have one of those very events on Thursday, so this outfit will be making another appearance.

Is there an event you’ve got planned for Christmas that you’re looking for outfit ideas for? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to help!