It's Beginning to Look Ever-So-Slightly Like Christmas

I put my Christmas wreath out yesterday.
Fun, isn't it? It's metallic green paillettes, kind of mod oval-shaped ones. There are a lot of good things about the holidays, but just about my favorite thing is that it gives you permission to wear sequins. I think we all already know how I feel about the sparkly things.

A person has to work a little harder to get into the holiday spirit when it's 80º outside (that's about 27ºC for my metric readers). I think it gives us extra incentive to glam it up & be festive -- if you wear it, it will come. And so, in celebration of the Season of the Sparkly, I bring you a roster of fabulous sequinny clothes. I'm not talking about a nice little chiffon cami with some tasteful beading around the neck, I'm talking full-on disco ball here. Because, my friends, if you're gonna go, go big. Sparkle, shimmer, shine, risk retinal damage. Throw caution to the wind.

Sequins take a bit of fashion nerve, I know. But trust me, put one of these things on and you will become so giddy with sparkle-induced euphoria that you will completely lose any inhibitions you might have had. Give it a try. Here are some wonderful goodies, in descending order of splurgitude.

Alice + Olivia dress. I know that for many of us this would actually count as a tunic, but look how cute is is with tights -- that makes it more wearable. You could even do boots, tights, and a nice velvet blazer over it.

Alice + Olivia checkerboard dress. Unexpected and fun.

Ashish dress. Many sequined dresses are extremely close fitting, but I love the fullness in this skirt. It would move when you walked -- imagine the glimmering!

Robert Rodriguez Sequin Dress. Relaxed, classic, love the boatneck.

This jacket is GORGEOUS, and comes in two other beautiful colors. Throw this on over the simplest of dresses and poof! Magic!

The ease of a slouchy sweater made fabulous with shimmer.

Beautiful Emanuel Ungaro with stunning pearl detailing at neck.

Full-length gold sequins by Gai Mattiolo Couture. Doesn't get much glammier than this, and the price is actually pretty reasonable. The great thing about a dress like this -- no need to worry about jewelry. (As a matter of fact, with all of these things, any jewelry at all should be exceedingly simple. Resist the urge to don further sparklies.)

I'm completely besotted with this -- easy a-line shape and yet still unbearably sexy. And under $150! Fantastic.

Two of my favorite things -- ombré effect AND sequins! Heaven!! Also, super-flattering halter shape and sexy-yet-discreet keyhole opening. Really wonderful.

Sexy siren dress. Go ahead, you know you want to. Also comes in petites.

I love these wonderful colors. I'm finding the pink nearly irresistible, especially given the fuchsia moment I've been having lately.

Also extremely tempted by this. Isn't that great? And the gold is sort of an antiqued gold color -- which I can't help but think I would look awfully nice in. Bonus -- cut high enough to still wear a strapless support mechanism, which I do insist upon. Believe me, they'll already be looking at the sequins. Let's not give them further excuse to stare, shall we?

Simple elegance -- you could cook and serve a holiday dinner in this and be gorgeous and comfortable all the way through.

Smitten kitten for this coat. Remind me that it's 80º and I don't NEED any more coats.

Love this subtle pewter color -- less obvious than silver and still wonderfully shimmery.

Beautiful starburst effect. And that copper color -- mmmmmm...

Great colors, amazing price.

Like a silvery snowfall. Beautiful.

The classic basic, at a fantastic price. I really think everyone needs one of these. You might be surprised by how versatile this is -- try layering it over a great white blouse and your favorite jeans for sexy-without-trying-too-hard.

So, go! Shop! Get your sparkly on!!

Photos: Style Spy, Shopbop.com, eLuxury.com, Yoox.com, Overstock.com, Macys.com,