New Year’s Eve Attire. Redefined?

By Erica and Karen

New Year’s Eve is coming! Some of us may dress up. Even if we don’t have anywhere to go. What do we wear?

We recently attended a more or less formal evening affair with a good friend. She remarked, at its conclusion, that the range of evening wear was expansive, but that few women wore gowns, or anything involving a skirt. We had not picked up on that, but once she shared her observation we began to think about whether and how evening dress looks today.

As it happens, we just visited the Women Dress Women show at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum. We loved, loved, loved many of the gowns—some from 1924!—featured in the exhibit. And we feel great affinity for Amal Clooney, who apparently never saw a sequin she didn’t like. We’re with her on that. She wears lots of evening gowns, and we would really be happy if we looked like her in one of them. And if we had places to wear them, like balls in Venetian palazzos.

But no. We don’t live in that world. We are more likely to be in a world dressed by Joseph Ribkoff, a designer better known in England but who seems to us to capture the moment for dressy clothes today. Fluid jackets with sparkles, silky pants that move, draped tops that flatter. Black, red, gold. And of course bright pink.

We looked around to find out what brands are thinking. For the most part they are still focused on gowns for women. Here’s what AI had to say about trends for evening dresses in 2023—sadly, without pictures: 

• Asymmetrical necklines

• One-shoulder designs

• Halter necks

• Deep V-necks

• Long sleeve dresses

• Clean lines

• Sleek silhouettes

• Minimal adornments

• Light fabrics

We were surprised by the wide variety of outfits the Nieman Marcus site designated for evening, though that variety was certainly consistent with the observations of the event we attended.

This site also offered a range of ideas, though its images were less appealing. Those we liked:

• Shimmer and shine with metallic fabrics.

• Dramatic floral additions.

• Sheer overlays.

• Velvet.

Those we liked less: ruffles and high slits. Tacky.

Does any of this matter? We acknowledge there are bigger issues in the world. But we think clothes send a message, particularly important for people like us, about who we are and the role we play in society. We also think clothes demonstrate that we understand how to elevate festive circumstances. We love to see amazingly creative festive finery. Men wearing bright red jackets, or velvet. Women in sequined suits, with feathers. And we are dismayed by people who display no sense of occasion. Where’s the fun in that?

There seem to be two forces at work when it comes to attire:

One, exciting to us, is invention—wearing something unexpected, even something that might have been considered inappropriate in days of yore, like tuxedos on women. Here’s a brief and amusing history.

The other, not at all exciting, is a rejection of any kind of formality. Sweatpants rule, even in the theater. Which seems to us like the opposite of fun. Indeed, downright boring.

For New Year’s Eve, wherever we are, we want to let our own style lead the way. We’re way too old to look like anyone else. So let’s fashion something that makes us feel glam, go forth with confidence into the starry night, and light up the room with our vision! Whatever it is!

Have a spirited New Year’s Eve!