The first thing I do with any sparkly dress or top is scrunch a handful of it and let go, because that tells you straight away whether the sequins are stitched into the fabric or glued onto a net backing that will start shedding sequins into your hair, your drink and the sofa within the hour. Cheap sequin work goes bald at the elbows and under the arms by Boxing Day. Good sequin work still looks intact when you drag it out again the following year.
Fit is where most of these pieces catch people out, because sequinned and metallic fabrics don't stretch the way a normal dress does, so you need to size for your actual body rather than your usual size and expect to go up if you're between two. A jumpsuit needs checking sitting down as well as standing, since the crotch on a cheap one can sit two inches too low the second you bend your knees at a dinner table. Watch the back zip on anything fitted, a lot of them gape slightly at the top even when the rest fits, and that's the bit everyone behind you in a group photo will see. In the shop, run your hand inside the garment, not just over it: a scratchy sequin backing or a stiff lining against bare skin is something you'll notice at nine in the evening even if you didn't feel it at the mirror. Check how the fabric copes with raised arms, since most of these outfits get worn somewhere with dancing, a buffet, or both, and a hem that's fine standing still can ride up badly the second you lift a glass to toast anyone. Colour under shop lighting lies too, so a wine red or deep green is worth a glance near a window if you can manage it, because the warm bulbs in most changing rooms flatter everything into looking richer than it is. These outfits earn their keep across a narrow but demanding stretch, office parties in early December, family lunches where you want to look like you've made an effort without looking overdressed next to your gran, and whatever you're doing on the thirty first, all of which tend to happen in overheated rooms while it's freezing outside, so a fabric that doesn't make you sweat through it matters more than how it photographs on the hanger.
A good one gets regretted less and worn more often than its price tag suggests, while a cheap one tends to get one outing and a lot of fabric fluff on everything near it afterwards.
This suits anyone who wants to look like they tried, without spending the whole evening adjusting something.
