COS this is how partywear should be done

Sometimes I worry about doing too many of the types of posts everyone else is doing or ones that feel "mandatory". This is not out of snobbery (a habit I've mostly kicked since being a teen). There's nothing wrong with those posts. They're valid. I don't feel above them. But I do worry my readers will think "Ah, Jesus, not another gift guide." I want to keep your attention and do things that are fresh and interesting and much more me. Sometimes that means avoiding the obvious, other times it means putting a new twist on something you may have seen many times before.

But being seasonal, being relevant is also important. And it's hard to avoid talking about what others are going crazy over in the fashion world. It's entire structure is seasonal and ever-changing by nature.

Another thing that worries me is flooding my blog overly with my current obsessions. Anyone who knows me will be aware that I have a tendency to become utterly enamoured with something and find it difficult, at times, to talk about anything else. I don't wish to seem as though I'm repeating myself but I don't wish to curb my passion as I feel it's a huge selling-point to what I do here.

So, with all of this in mind, I'm writing about COS for the second time this month but, funnily enough, exactly because they're offering a twist on a classic. Christmas means parties and the search for the perfect outfit. And in their latest lookbook COS gives us some better options to the traditional offerings. No Christmas jumpers. No sequin dresses. (Not that there's anything wrong with either of these things, but still) No plain Jane suits. Instead, we have clean lines, structure that still manages to result in loose fits. There's a sense of ease, not having to try too hard - which wonderfully masks the panic such event-focused shopping and dressing can cause. And, of course, it's almost painfully cool. All stark black and white lighting and off-centre shots featuring perfectly and breezily style models. Perhaps the biggest statement one could make at the office party this year would be a subtle one. Less is more - and all that. No garish colour or flashy embellishments, just reinvented classics, fitting well and letting the wearer do the talking...or mingling.

Shop the collection here.

(Images via COS)

What do you guys think? The perfect party alternatives?