How to Wear Velvet in the Day, Not Just at Christmas
Velvet gets about three outings a year. The work do, Christmas Day, maybe New Year if you're keen, and then it goes back in a garment bag until the next...
Velvet gets about three outings a year. The work do, Christmas Day, maybe New Year if you're keen, and then it goes back in a garment bag until the next December. Which is a waste, because a soft, warm, heavy fabric with a bit of sheen is exactly what you want in February, when everything else in the wardrobe looks flat and grey.
What makes velvet look festive is what usually goes with it: more velvet, satin, a heel, a sequin somewhere nearby. Put it next to blue denim, a plain T-shirt and a pair of trainers instead and it looks like you made a decision about your outfit on a weekday, which is the best kind of decision.
Velvet colours for daytime
Dark, slightly muddy shades that look good in daylight and go with denim.
Bottle Green
#1F4A3A
Chocolate
#4B2E24
Wine
#5E1A2A
Midnight Navy
#1F2440
Washed Black
#2A2A2C
I'd skip bright red in the day unless the Christmas reading is the point. The darker end of the range looks better in natural light: chocolate, a burgundy closer to wine than tinsel, and midnight navy that passes for black until the light hits it. Green is my pick, because it sits next to blue denim far more happily than black velvet ever does.
A velvet blazer with jeans and a T-shirt
This is the easiest way in. Look for a velvet blazer cut like an ordinary tailored jacket and wear it over a white T-shirt or a fine roll neck with straight blue jeans. The tailoring keeps it sharp and the jeans stop it looking like a wedding outfit, while the velvet catches the light in a way a wool blazer can't. Loafers or clean white trainers finish it.
If you want to make it a bit odder, go a size up, push the sleeves to the elbow and swap the T-shirt for a striped Breton. It's still a blazer and jeans, it just looks like yours.
Velvet blazers
Velvet trousers and skirts with a big jumper
Velvet trousers sound like a lot until you remember they're a softer, shinier cousin of the cords you already own. Wide-leg pairs in brown or wine look best with something plain and chunky on top, like a cream cable knit or an old grey sweatshirt. Keep the shoes flat. Trainers or worn-in ankle boots both work, and a slightly scuffed pair helps.
A velvet skirt follows the same rule. A plain midi in chocolate or black, with a big jumper tucked in at the front and knee boots, will get you through a Tuesday. A sequinned or lace-trimmed one belongs after 7pm, so go for the plainest one you can find.
A velvet top under knitwear or with denim
If a whole blazer or a pair of velvet trousers feels like too much commitment, start with a top. A long-sleeved velvet T-shirt or roll neck under an open cardigan or a denim jacket shows a little texture at the neck and cuffs, and that's all. On its own with high-waisted jeans, it will do for work and for a drink afterwards without a change.
How to dress down a velvet dress
Dresses are where velvet got its party reputation, so this one takes the most undoing. Pick a long-sleeved midi in a dark colour, then pull a chunky jumper over the top so the dress turns into a skirt with a bit of cuff showing. Add opaque tights, flat boots and a wool coat. Off the shoulder and short is a December dress, and you can leave it there.
Five ways to keep velvet out of party territory
Wear one velvet piece at a time
A velvet blazer and velvet trousers together make a velvet suit, and a velvet suit is an occasion.
Pair it with something rough
Denim and chunky knitwear do the most work here. The scruffier the thing next to it, the more deliberate the velvet looks.
Keep the shoes flat
A heel with velvet reads as evening straight away. Loafers, ankle boots or trainers pull it back to daytime.
Choose a matt or washed finish
High-shine velvet looks dressier. A softer, flatter pile sits closer to corduroy and is easier to wear to work.
Hang it up and steam it
Folding leaves creases in the pile and a hot iron can flatten it, so give velvet a hanger and use a steamer.
How to wear velvet in the day, in one line
One velvet piece in a dark colour, with denim or knitwear and flat shoes. That gets you from now until the clocks go forward, with Christmas Day thrown in if you insist.
Prices and stock move week to week, so if a blazer in the right green turns up, I wouldn't hold out for the January sales.