This article is taken from the December-January 2026 issue of The Critic. To get the full magazine why not subscribe? Get five issues for just £25.
There’s no need for festive fashion articles because Christmas isn’t about fashion; it’s about style. I say this less in the sense of its sartorial constituents being unchanging (jewel tones, metallics, velvet, sequins, sad-sack suburban sparkle), than that of styling it out, i.e. dragging oneself through the bloody thing whilst preserving some remnant of dignity.
There’s been a shift in the last few months to guises that are more fitted, dressed and cartoonishly feminine than in recent years. Still, given that fashion has slowed to a planet-saving amble, this party season one can very much sport what one wore last Yule.
I finally succumbed to my Christmas ’24 hot tip this autumn. Viz, Me+Em’s Forever Shawl Collar Tux Blazer in ivory (£350, meandem.com) with its Forever Relaxed Tux Man Pant (£250).
A snowy tux is (still) an excellent means of cutting a swathe through the tinselled masses, not least teamed with skin (shirtless perhaps, or by thrusting up the sleeves).
Bianca Jagger was clad in this — her signature guise — at the British Museum’s Pink Ball back in October, Tom Wolfe-chic whilst everyone else flitted about in shades of flamingo, bubble gum and labia. I exchanged girl-on-girl glances with her that said: “I see you, and I salute you” in my case, and “Stop staring at me, weird-ass,” in hers.
I also fangirled Hatton Garden jeweller Flora Astor, who polished her style moves in Paris as wife of Theo Rycroft, formerly deputy chief of Mission. Swanning about the Marbles, she revealed herself to be in burgundy Cefinn (recycled) sequins — and bloody fantastic they looked, too.
Behold, the Ophelia Bias Cut Sequin Maxi Dress (£370, cefinn.com). I hadn’t purchased a black-tie frock for three decades, but had to secure this pronto. It is utterly stupendous.
What Jagger and Astor pulled off was to look like themselves, only more so, whilst retaining a relative insouciance, which is the one true goal of event dressing. I endeavoured to achieve this myself at the same event.
Accordingly, I donned the jet sheath I purchased aged 21 (I am 54); an ancient Me+Em fuchsia blouse styled as a bolero; eBay sandals and an Etsy crown (£78.76, from JPHJDesignHouse), which I obviously referred to as a “family tiara”, despite its being lurid pink.
As you will discern, I am by no means anti-sparkle. What I detest is grudging, token or prissy obligation sparkle. If scintillation isn’t in your wheelhouse, then swerve it. You should look like you. My BM garb didn’t resemble anyone else’s, but it was recognisably Betts, meaning I felt both entirely at ease and full of joy.
As a result, I flatter myself it “worked”. Sundry passing wimmin confirmed this, in addition to Savile Row’s dashing Ozwald Boateng and Trinny “fashion guru” Woodall. “I saw you across the room, and I thought: ‘Yes,’” The Trinster informed me. And, really, there is no higher praise. (I may have snapped up a second, lavender tiara, just in case, and really rather fancy the navy.)
To recap: your ’fit should reflect your essential you-ness, thus qualifying as an actual pleasure. Whilst there should be sprezzatura with its necessary nonchalance, the best means of achieving this is by incorporating some element of what you’ve been wearing all day — and I’m not simply talking about your knickers.
This works especially well in December when it’s cold, and you won’t want to disrobe to get re-dressed. I’m talking about a twinkly cocktail skirt donned with your cashmere dog sweater; or a stupendous, Renaissancecore, Vinted jacket, worn with a mini, sourced some lunch hour a quarter of a century ago.
For full Shakespeherian swag, I may add last Christmas’s Azima Musayeva ruff (£200, wolfandbadger.com), since — zone-wise — the focus remains very much on the throat. Said neckpieces have always enabled style merchants to look freshly-laundered, despite stewing in their clothes for months. As with the pearls that invariably accompanied them, they throw light onto the face and provide fabulous flourish.
A bow will work just as well so get knotting. The V&A has Merino Scarves by Kashmir Loom (£35, vam.ac.uk) in a series of sumptuous shades.
Or how about NRBY’s bow-tied Cosette Silk Blend Velvet Cape (£270, nrbyclothing.com) for throat interest? Its lustrous, silk-velvet sheen looks as winning with jeans as it does evening dress; as perfect for January cheer, as it is December gadding. I intend tiara-sporting through both. A woman’s got to give herself a reason to live.
