Real stories · The party is in the sleeves

The Party Is In The Sleeves

All the sparkle, none of the costume — because on this dress, the party lives entirely in the sleeves. It's the cleverest festive idea I've worn in years.

You'll know the December dilemma. Full sequins and you feel like a bauble by nine o'clock; the plain black dress and you feel like you've come to do the catering. Every year I've swung between the two and been quietly dissatisfied with both.

The Avelisse, from York Boutique — a British label I've ordered from all season — splits the difference perfectly. The dress itself is a simple black shift: round neck, knee length, the flattering sort that skims rather than clings. And then the sleeves — soft, puffed, and covered in small black sequins that catch the light every time you lift a glass.

The arrangement is cleverer than it looks. Because the sparkle sits on the sleeves and the body stays plain, the dress does the festive work while remaining calm at the centre — which is why it reads as elegant rather than fancy-dress, and why it's so forgiving: the shift shape smooths everything and asks nothing in return. With black tights and flat shoes I was comfortable from the first carol to the washing-up.

Plain at the centre, sparkling at the edges — festive without a single sequin out of place.

At Sandra's early Christmas supper the sleeves collected three comments before pudding, one of them from Sandra's sister-in-law, who compliments nothing. I'll admit I did check before ordering that I could send it back if the sequins felt scratchy — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — but the sleeves are lined and soft, and the dress washed my doubts away the first evening out.

It's listed at £70 and sells for £34.95 because York Boutique sell direct, and it comes in sizes UK 8/10 to 18/20. If December usually makes you choose between bauble and caterer: here's the third option.