What to Wear on New Year's Eve

Questions

What do I wear on New Year's Eve if I am staying in?

Something with a good fabric and no structure. Wide satin trousers with a fine knit, or a long jersey dress, both read as an occasion in photographs and let you sit on a sofa until one in the morning. The point is to feel dressed, not to be held upright by a waistband.

Is black boring for New Year's Eve?

No, but flat black can be. Black in a fabric that moves or catches light — satin, velvet, a fine pleat — does everything a colour would, and it is the reason black is the most photographed choice of the night. What reads dull is black in a stiff synthetic with nothing else going on.

How do I dress for New Year's Eve in the cold?

Choose the coat first and build the outfit to suit it. A proper wool coat over a satin slip works; a going-out top under a coat you would not be photographed in means either freezing or carrying it all night. Add opaque tights, and boots if the night involves any distance on foot.

What is the difference between a New Year's Eve outfit and a party outfit?

Permission, mostly. Everything that reads as too much at a normal party — full sequin, metallic, a long dress at a house party — is simply correct on the thirty-first. The other difference is timing: it is the one night where the outfit needs to survive until well after midnight.