Christmas Eve has a touch of magic - so put on some black velvet | Jess CartnerMorley
Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, is the most beautiful day of the year. Do. No need to waste your breath arguing, since I'm quite sure I'm right, thank you very much. December 24th is infinitely superior to the 25th. Indeed, the moment you realize that is the moment you become an adult.
Christmas Eve gives the feels like it's everyone's birthday. The magic of Christmas is in the promise. Presents keeping their secrets under the tree, the mistletoe ready to be kissed underneath. A fridge groaning with food for Christmas, which you are not yet allowed to eat. If Christmas was a song, tomorrow would be the bridge and Christmas Day would be the last chorus of the chorus when you think about what you're going to play next.
It goes without saying reason – in this column at least – that the best day of the year should also be the best dressed day of the year. The logistics of Christmas Day itself are likely to define what you wear. If you have young children and you cook, your "look" will probably be your dressing gown until three minutes before the lunch guests arrive. But Christmas Eve has a reasonably civilized pace, at least in the morning, even if the pressure of the to-do list starts to feel quite real later in the afternoon. In 36 hours you'll be eating brandy butter in the bathtub, and the next few days you'll be in the plains of jeans and sweaters at Twixmas, but tomorrow is a day for truly festive attire.
So can I recommend a dark velvet? I just don't think you can beat it in black or navy blue. Velvet is just as chic as sequins, but it's inviting and comfortable without harsh edges. The sequins have a disco ball sheen, but the plush velvet subtly reflects the light, catching your attention like the crackle of a log fire. Velvet is chic yet unassuming, so it works whether you're spending tomorrow queuing at the butcher to pick up your order, at a Nutcracker matinee, or drinking mulled wine on the couch while you wrap presents, with an eye on It's A Wonderful Life.
Velvet isn't just for Christmas. I have a pair of black stretch velor Spanx leggings that I wear to pilates class early in the morning, and they never fail to stand out in the locker room. I also have a Topshop dress I bought for the 2015 holiday season that combines a black velvet top – very plain, almost severe, with a round neck and long sleeves – with a full ivory lace skirt. I'll never have a black velvet Christmas dress like the dreamy scalloped collar Edith Head chose for Rosemary Clooney in the 1954 movie White Christmas, but no matter - I'm more than happy with my Topshop treasure. It could be this season, it could be a decades old vintage: it's indeterminable.
For those who find twee velvet, (a little too Nutcracker-morning, a little too ribbon-hair to be really chic) I advise my baggy black velvet jumpsuit which, when worn a bit unbuttoned with heels, can silence any critics of plush. Tomorrow, however, I think I'll stick to the practicalities of last-minute food shopping and wear my favorite midnight blue velor boatneck top with jeans.
If velvet isn't u on your wish list, you could be a snow angel in layers of white knits, like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday. In the spirit of seasonal goodwill, I'll even sanction a Christmas sweater, especially if it has a retro 1980s vibe from Last Christmas-video, though I'd kindly steer you towards a cool-New Yorker-girl Christmas , in a tweed coat and Oxford bags, a la Meg Ryan buying a Christmas tree in When Harry Met Sally. What brings you the most Christmas cheer is the right thing to wear. Tomorrow is when the magic happens, so what are you waiting for?
Tomorrow, Christmas Eve, is the most beautiful day of the year. Do. No need to waste your breath arguing, since I'm quite sure I'm right, thank you very much. December 24th is infinitely superior to the 25th. Indeed, the moment you realize that is the moment you become an adult.
Christmas Eve gives the feels like it's everyone's birthday. The magic of Christmas is in the promise. Presents keeping their secrets under the tree, the mistletoe ready to be kissed underneath. A fridge groaning with food for Christmas, which you are not yet allowed to eat. If Christmas was a song, tomorrow would be the bridge and Christmas Day would be the last chorus of the chorus when you think about what you're going to play next.
It goes without saying reason – in this column at least – that the best day of the year should also be the best dressed day of the year. The logistics of Christmas Day itself are likely to define what you wear. If you have young children and you cook, your "look" will probably be your dressing gown until three minutes before the lunch guests arrive. But Christmas Eve has a reasonably civilized pace, at least in the morning, even if the pressure of the to-do list starts to feel quite real later in the afternoon. In 36 hours you'll be eating brandy butter in the bathtub, and the next few days you'll be in the plains of jeans and sweaters at Twixmas, but tomorrow is a day for truly festive attire.
So can I recommend a dark velvet? I just don't think you can beat it in black or navy blue. Velvet is just as chic as sequins, but it's inviting and comfortable without harsh edges. The sequins have a disco ball sheen, but the plush velvet subtly reflects the light, catching your attention like the crackle of a log fire. Velvet is chic yet unassuming, so it works whether you're spending tomorrow queuing at the butcher to pick up your order, at a Nutcracker matinee, or drinking mulled wine on the couch while you wrap presents, with an eye on It's A Wonderful Life.
Velvet isn't just for Christmas. I have a pair of black stretch velor Spanx leggings that I wear to pilates class early in the morning, and they never fail to stand out in the locker room. I also have a Topshop dress I bought for the 2015 holiday season that combines a black velvet top – very plain, almost severe, with a round neck and long sleeves – with a full ivory lace skirt. I'll never have a black velvet Christmas dress like the dreamy scalloped collar Edith Head chose for Rosemary Clooney in the 1954 movie White Christmas, but no matter - I'm more than happy with my Topshop treasure. It could be this season, it could be a decades old vintage: it's indeterminable.
For those who find twee velvet, (a little too Nutcracker-morning, a little too ribbon-hair to be really chic) I advise my baggy black velvet jumpsuit which, when worn a bit unbuttoned with heels, can silence any critics of plush. Tomorrow, however, I think I'll stick to the practicalities of last-minute food shopping and wear my favorite midnight blue velor boatneck top with jeans.
If velvet isn't u on your wish list, you could be a snow angel in layers of white knits, like Cameron Diaz in The Holiday. In the spirit of seasonal goodwill, I'll even sanction a Christmas sweater, especially if it has a retro 1980s vibe from Last Christmas-video, though I'd kindly steer you towards a cool-New Yorker-girl Christmas , in a tweed coat and Oxford bags, a la Meg Ryan buying a Christmas tree in When Harry Met Sally. What brings you the most Christmas cheer is the right thing to wear. Tomorrow is when the magic happens, so what are you waiting for?
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