Every girl who loves to dress up knows: sequins are fashion magic.
They catch the light and reflect it in cheerful rainbow colors; they move in mysterious ways when you move; they even lift your face (thanks to all that reflected sparkle) and improve your mood.
Sadly, they are often limited to a few weeks around the Christmas period. Admittedly, those gloomy days benefit from a little extra glamour, but this season, I am pleased to report that haute couture is determined to bring back sequins for summer.
So if you’re trying this trend, you’ll want to make sure you look more grown-up than pre-teen, more chic than cheap, and more summer party girl than mince pie passer.
Here are five simple rules to stay on the right side of fabulous.
Try layers and bouquets
Sequin bustier dress, £320, mango.com
Maxi dress with sequin cape, £125, karenmillen.com
Your instinct may tell you to keep it simple, but the truth is that a shapeless, embellished sequin slip dress will always look cheap. Look for extra details to avoid falling into a Mamma Mia homage.
Polish designer Magda Butrym has spearheaded the recent comeback of the rose corsage, including in her sequin creations. Mango’s halterneck sequin dress (£320, mango.com) is a great alternative when Magda’s £2,235 original is out of reach – it features a similar halterneck, a tie-back and an elegant corsage.
A cape detail will also add the high fashion factor to High Street sequins, like Karen Millen’s silver corsage dress.
Stay pale and peachy
Luxury: At Emilia Wickstead’s SS24 show
Dress, £89.99, reserved.com
To avoid being confused with the season, avoid gold, red and green: leave them for December.
Instead, opt for apricot, cream and soft pink hues. The eye-catching turquoise and fuchsia sequins of last summer’s mermaid and Barbiecore trends are still lurking on the streets, but they tend to look tacky.
Lighter colours are more mature and give a luxurious feel. Opt for clothes with high collars and pull your hair back; next to your face, sequins in light colours reflect the light to create a beautiful shine.
Reserved has an off-white sequin dress (£89.99, reserved.com) with an almost halterneck cut; it looks a lot like the £2,470 version Emilia Wickstead sent down her SS24 catwalk.
Add an informal note
Inspiration: Relaxed look on the Gucci SS24 catwalk
From left to right: Trousers, £34.99, hm.com; skirt, £35, riverisland.com
Pairing sequins with the right pieces will ensure an elegant look. Take a cue from Gucci’s spring/summer 2024 runway and pair a sequin top with baggy jeans.
Similarly, sequin trousers look incongruously cool paired with a simple white T-shirt – the H&M pair (£34.99, hm.com) has that essential “just rolled into a pile of sequins” quality.
A cashmere sweater over a sequin skirt adds a touch of maturity and makes sequins appropriate for the day. Just make sure it’s midi length – a sequin miniskirt is something that looks like “I just raided my teenager’s wardrobe.”
River Island’s nude number is perfect (£35, riverisland.com).
Mix textures and layers
Elegant: Armani SS24
From left to right: Sequin knit top, £32.99, zara.com; sequin dress with lace overlay, £250, mango.com
At the Spring/Summer 2024 shows, Armani layered sheer sequin miniskirts over satin maxiskirts, and 16Arlington added airy chiffon skirts to the sequined bodices of its dresses. The contrasting textures add a complexity that will ensure your sequins don’t look secondhand.
Mango has a sequin dress that features a lace overlay (£250, mango.com) – the sequins sparkle through the delicate gaps in the lace in a way that’s more elegant and subtle than a disco ball.
For the more subtle, sequins adorning a lightweight knit are another option. Zara’s mint green tank top, covered in tiny sequins, will be a pastel summer dream with pale pink trousers (£32.99, zara.com).
Never, never go irregularly
Bunzi dress, now £216, celiab.com
Sequin disco dress, £350, mango.com
The small sequins catch the light beautifully on summer evenings, but there must be enough of them to prevent the piece from looking cheap – it must be completely covered with them.
Last month, Scarlett Johansson wore a crystal-embellished dress to the premiere of her new film in Berlin that appeared to be completely covered in sequins. In contrast, many of the sequined garments on the High Street have irregular patches.
Designer Celia B’s are anything but. The long sleeves and high neck of her ‘Bunzi’ dress (£216, celiab.com) make it the most elegant version of sequins I’ve ever seen.
Alternatively, opt for disc-shaped sequins so large that their irregularity could never be questioned.
ASOS has one (£210, asos.com) that’s a perfect copy of Alexa Chung’s custom 16Arlington dress on the red carpet recently, while Mango’s version sparkles with every move (£350, mango.com).
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