Going out? Dress up and stay warm

When it came to deciding what to wear to a dinner party in Mayfair during the coldest week of winter so far, Alex Eagle made her selections with two objectives in mind: one, to look chic. Two, to keep warm.

“It wasn’t officially black tie, but I knew everyone there was going to be in naked dresses with their arms out. And I’m someone who would carry a hot water bottle around with me at all times if it were socially acceptable,” says Eagle, who is the creative director behind Alex Eagle Studio and The Store, among other projects. “Plus it was a Monday night. You do want to be a bit cosy.”

She settled on a subtly sheer black knit dress and a wool blazer from her own label, worn over tights and knee-high boots, and finished off with an oversized coat. “It felt quite luxurious to mix those textures,” she says. “Even without the coat, I was very comfortable.”

The most wonderful time of the year also happens to be one of the most challenging times to dress for. There’s so much to consider: the climatic contrast between outdoors and in, the interplay between outerwear and your outfit, to sequin or not to sequin — and that’s before you get to the ruinous concept of “party heels” (nothing makes me feel less celebratory than sore feet). Dressing up for parties, dinners and all the events of the season can feel incompatible with the desire to keep warm.

Unless, it seems, you’re Norwegian.

“Personally I think there are ways to put together a cool party look that you don’t have to freeze for,” says Maria Skappel Holzweiler, creative director of the Norway-based, outerwear-centric brand Holzweiler. She should know, having recently worn a custom puffer maxi skirt to the brand’s 10th anniversary party in Oslo. “It felt like I was wearing a gown but it was super-warm and comfy.”

She swears by layering “to create interesting looks that are also practical.” So do the real pros at the Fashion Awards, meaning the publicists who spend much of the biggest night in British fashion holding the coats of red-carpet guests as the latter pose in six-degree weather. The A-listers shiver in filmy gowns; the PRs wear Heattech base layers and stick mini hand warmers into their gloves.

The best layering pieces are discreet to the point of unseen. Uniqlo’s Heattech camisole (£14.90, uniqlo.com) is undetectable under most dresses. Both M&S and Uniqlo stock thermal bodysuits — very Bob Fosse over sheer tights, or just the thing to save you from shivering when worn under dresses, knitwear or shirts. Layering pieces of different weight, texture or opacity makes outfits more interesting.

Luckily the idea that we should keep legs bare with party looks has waned in many places. Tights add warmth, no matter the denier. Few foundation pieces say “party” like a sheer black tight with tiny black polka dots or shimmery spots (£35, heist-studios.com). Another boon for frozen toes: the relatively recent acceptability of wearing socks with high-heeled sandals. Grab those Lurex socks and go.

Velvet is your ally when it comes to warmth with glamour. A long-sleeved velvet dress can be the ultimate in wintry elegance while keeping you covered from neck to ankle. (Tick the “modest” filter on ecommerce platforms for more long-sleeve options.) Remember something sparkly around your neck to keep the look from verging on the austere.

If head-to-toe black velvet feels too curtain-like or heavy, Ganni’s long-sleeve black velvet dress (£260 on sale, ganni.com) comes with a keyhole neckline and thigh slit — the better to flash a thighful of polka-dot tights through. Or go for Asceno’s Jody dress in deepest midnight-blue velvet (£495, asceno.com). Nrby’s silk-velvet Simona dress has ribbons trailing down the back. It would look terrific over a black polo-neck bodysuit, or worn with the brand’s matching Odette opera coat.

Knitwear incorporating metallic yarns also keeps you warm while it shimmers in candlelight. Chinti & Parker’s silver Lurex dress is great for layering (see above), while Cos’s sparkly merino jumper and skirt comes in silver or a lesser-seen glittery chocolate hue. “I’m all-or-nothing when it comes to metallics,” says Liberowe designer Talia Loubaton, whose silver lamé Roberta scarf top creates an all-over look when tucked into her wide-leg Delphi trousers (£288 and £492 in sale, liberowe.com). “It’s quite a classic bourgeois French silhouette, but twisted with this partywear fabric.”

Or slip into any sleeveless party dress you like, but add a cardigan with a sprinkle of crystal embellishment on top. A cocktail cardigan works because it looks intentional rather than like a thrown-on afterthought. Erdem is the king of this knitwear genre (£1,250, mytheresa.com). See also Needle & Thread, Rixo, Sandro and vintage sources.

For the frostiest formal occasions, you’re going to want showstopping outerwear. Charlotte Simone’s belted coats with fluffy collars and cuffs are a party in a coat; so are evening coats by Dries Van Noten and Wiggy Kit, and all manner of vintage opera coats (check eBay).

“I’m a bit of a coat obsessive,” says Davina Wedderburn-Thompson, head of brand and communications for the British Fashion Council. Her Fashion Awards outfit started with a Heattech vest and cotton cycling shorts as a base layer, followed by a long-sleeve silk dress, a cashmere roll-neck, Manolo Blahnik mules and an oversized Raey blazer-coat (collar up). “The right coat does it all. If you have a great coat, you look put together no matter what you’re wearing underneath.”

Then again, there comes a point in most events when you’re going to remove the coat. Dressing up in cold weather can force you to choose whether you’d rather be comfortable in lower temperatures on the way into an event or once you’re inside, around a (hopefully warmer) table. Sometimes it’s best to accept the inevitability of teeth-chattering moments en route to the festivities rather than overheating when you arrive.

Even the heat-seeking Alex Eagle acknowledges that temporary cold can be difficult to avoid entirely. Last month, she wore a silk dress with a coat, tights and heels to a wedding in London’s Temple Church. “It was such a gorgeous wedding, but I was freezing,” she says, despite the coat. Reframing the temporary discomfort as an endorphin-boosting treatment helped. A little.

“I do think sometimes you have to pretend it’s free cryotherapy,” she says with a wry smile. “Just tell yourself it’s good for you and get through it.”

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