Ahhh, New Year’s Eve- the one night of the year where you can dress like a human disco ball without anyone being able to say a darn thing. As a sparkle aficionado, I fully support the experimentation of different sparkles: different sequin sizes, different colors, the addition of different textures….anything to keep it interesting and fabulous! That said, I also think it’s important to keep some rules in mind so you don’t go overboard and look like a member of ABBA escaped from 1973 (actually…...that would be amazing, I take that back….but still- keep it reigned in).

Obbbbbviously, all fashion rules are made to be broken, and you may TOTALLY disagree with my sparkle philosophy. But, if you’re a newbie to the glitter scene, (first of all WELCOME!!!) I thought I’d give you a little bit of a roadmap for navigating the path to sparkletown.

Be consistent

One faux pas I see every year is the sampling of different sparkles. Don’t get me wrong- ANY glitter is good glitter in my eyes, but some sparkles are not meant to be paired. A gold sequin dress with iridescent rhinestone pumps, for example, is a bad idea. You don’t want to look like you pulled out every sparkly item you own, like a kid playing princess dress up! But that’s also not to say that you can’t have more than one sparkly piece on. This look by For Love and Lemons is a perfect example-- while the dress and shoes have sequins of different sizes, the silver glitter remains the same, tying the outfit together and creating the ultimate

Keep it in the family

If you decide to ignore my previous rule (hey- I agree that fashion rules are made to be broken), you can still be chic without looking gaudy. Mixing metallics is fine, as long as you keep some consistency. If you can’t keep the type of sparkle consistent, maybe try to keep up a general color theme. I love how Danielle Metz pairs this Boohoo dress with tan rhinestone shoes. While the sparkles aren’t the same, she keeps the colors consistent, so it looks like the shoes were MADE for the dress. This is a fun way to keep the outfit exciting without clashing. Like I said- fashion rules are not made to be upheld all the time, so by al means, play around until you find a match you like!

Game, SET, match

Remember when Taylor Swift practically INVENTED the matching set? Well I’m still aboard that ship. A crop top with a pair of matching pants, or a matching skirt, is the best thing ever because your outfit literally makes ITSELF. For NYE, you can TOTALLY get away with more than one sparkly article of clothing if you wear something like this A’GACI metallic midi skirt set. After all, the best way to avoid your sparkles clashing…..is by wearing two pieces with the same exact sparkles!

The “lightning rod” piece

When it comes to sparkly outfits, I believe it’s important to have what I call a “lightning rod piece.” This means you should have one piece of your outfit that acts as a base, that helps the outfit stay “grounded,” rather than seeming too absurd. You know how a lightning rod helps protect a house from a lightning strike by offsetting the blow? Same basic idea! It could be a jacket, your shoes, a skirt, anything that doesn’t sparkle, and can offset the excitement of your sparkly statement piece(s). I love how Tobi pairs this insanely gorgeous sequin bodysuit with this black lace up mini skirt. The skirt acts as the “lightning rod” of the outfit, and balances things out. This outfit also proves that the “lighting rod” piece doesn’t have to be dull and boring-- in fact, it can make its own statement, like this skirt does! Rule of thumb, when it comes to sparkles: it’s all about balance.

Black is back (even though it never left)

You can’t go wrong with black sparkles. Ever. They are the queen of the sparkle family, in my opinion, because you can wear them for any event, and you can pair them with almost anything. You can honestly take a black sequin dress and pair it with fur, leather, velvet, rhinestones….even other colors of sequins (!!!) without a second thought. Take this Missguided tassel dress, for example; you’d think a dress with sequins AND tassels would be kinda tacky, but the fact that it’s black keeps it elegant, subdued, and JUST exciting enough. Ordering it as we speak.

Textures, textures, textures

If mixing sparkles isn’t your thing, but you still want to jazz up your outfit (even more than you did by adding sparkles in the first place…), there’s hope for you yet!!!! I’ve recently gotten super into the look of sparkles mixed with textures like fur, leather, and velvet. ASOS NAILED it with this Insta post featuring the sparkle+leather and sparkle+fur looks. There’s a lot to look at, but it’s not blinding, and it doesn’t look like you’re just trying to play dress-up. I have yet to see a sequin dress that can’t be flawlessly paired with a fur shawl. And hey, if there’s any day to mix and match and have some fun with your outfit, NYE is that day!

Shine bright

One final piece of advice that I’ll leave you with: don’t sparkle so much that you forget to shine (I mean this literally for your outfit, and I mean it figuratively…..if you see a metaphor here). When I was a cheerleader in 2007, I remember a cheer that was called “smile, sparkle, shine,” and some girls on my team would say “this cheer is stupid, sparkling and shining are the same thing!” (I knew even then that this was TOTALLY untrue). You can add some shine without adding the full sparkle effect.
By this, I mean that you can glimmer on NYE without just decking yourself out in glitter. Case in point: Watch how this velvet jumpsuit by Mixology gleams in the camera light as she moves. Fabrics like satin, velvet, leather, and even some furs have a sleek shine to them that you can frame beautifully by adding some statement sparkles (like the glittery earrings and shoes in this video). She’s not sparkling head-to-toe necessarily, but she still looks totally dressed for the occasion, while remaining elegant, chic, and fabulous (and bonus points for mixing textures!!!).