What to Wear Through Out the Day on New Year's Eve
Sometimes you get one of those guides in a magazine in a doctor's waiting room that's like, "New Year's Eve Fashion" and it's just seven sparkly mini dresses in silver and gold and glasses where you can't even see because your eyes are covered with twos. But who is this really for? A child?
As adults, not only do we know how to dress ourselves, we have different demands on New Year's Eve besides drinking vodka out of a water bottle in the back of a Toyota Camry with someone named Blake. We have families now, children, grandmas. It's New Year's Eve for them too. What are they—nothing? That's why we've compiled a New Year's outfit guide, not just for the eve but for the whole day, and a little bit of the next day too. We got you covered with a drink and outfit suggestion.
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.: Old People/Families
The people who celebrate New Year's Eve at noon on December 31st are anyone over 65 and anyone younger than seven. Your mean grandma has dementia and your nice grandma is dead (blessings to her), your sister just had her second kid and is breastfeeding, so she has two hours tops.
This is the time for a little family gathering—inside because it's cold—but with the energy of a cookout. You get everyone together with silver and gold paper plates from Walmart, eat some chicken, grill something, let everyone run around, and only one thing gets broken. The goal, clothing-wise, is comfortable, but a little celebratory and also on guard.
Your mean grandma is going to ask about resolutions, and she's going to be a little judgy, then tell you how she wishes she were already dead. The goal here is to get a little tipsy, laugh with your cousins, and make it out without any more emotional trauma than you came in with. The outfit needs to be comfortable but not sloppy. Leggings, but a solid color and the tight thicker material. A soft sweater that's a little sparkly but not gaudy—Nordstrom instead of Forever 21.
You might be thinking, "Okay, this is for women, what do I, a man, wear?" This is for you too. Nice sweats—comfy, maybe fleece lined—no writing—and a thick sweater that has a little something. Maybe a cable knit or a small zip down but the same general idea. The drinks for this should be low ABV beer, whiskey in hot cider, or two shots with your uncle—his choice.
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.: Dinner with Friends
The New Year's Eve holiday dinner is a lovely time to reflect on the past year, think about what's to come, and take stock of your entire life. How do you feel? Are you happy? Who is in your life? Where is your life going? What could you be doing better or more of? Is this the year to learn your mother's recipes? How's her heart doing? Should you call her more? That kind of thing.
This is a beautiful time but also a stressful time, and that's why before the shenanigans of the evening and potential regrets of the next day, it's important to have a nice meal with your friends, the people who love you just as you are and are going through the exact same thing. If you have a friend who has their entire life together, everything's going great, they just got engaged, got a house, and a puppy that cost thousands of dollars, this isn't the meal for them. Let them have a perfect plan with someone else.
The New Year's Eve dinner is for feeling supported and seen and safe. It can be out or at home—the most important ingredient is the people and how you feel. The outfit should be completely monochromatic. Again, this is for both men and women. Pick a color, any color, and just go head to toe with it. Black? Classy, elegant. Burgundy? Daring, bold. Denim? A trendsetter—potentially Canadian—mysterious. Pink? Romantic, setting intentions for love in the new year, sweet. Whatever you want just make sure everything in your outfit is that color. It's going to be head-turning in the best way.
The drinks at dinner should be nice wine and maybe one glass of champagne for a beautiful toast where everyone shares their Hulu passwords or a regret (if you have a Hulu password and you're not letting at least one friend use it, what kind of person even are you?).
11:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m.: The Main Event
Going out on New Year's Eve is about two things: feeling alive and glitter. You need to have some glitter, a little on your eyes, a beautiful pin, some sprinkled on your hair or person, resin jewelry featuring some kind of bug, a platform shoe originally designed for a child, nail polish, something. That's the first part.
Then, just sheer wonder at the universe and being alive. This can be achieved chemically or spiritually but whatever you need to do to get yourself to a point where you're staring at a tree going, "Nature is so beautiful," that's what you need to do. This is a time to remember that the only goal is to live in the present and be kind and make the world a better place for those around you and give as much love to yourself and others as you can. And if you make out with a stranger, even better. It's a new year. No one's ever lived this before and never will again.
Have fun. The drinks should be champagne, champagne, and more champagne, maybe a few fun cocktails and one shot of Fireball, or something equally disgusting, just to get all the juices flowing.
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.: Hangover Brunch
Whether you haven't gone to sleep yet or stayed on a friend's couch because you lost your keys, connecting with people the night after New Year's is crucial. There are so many places to get brunch in NOLA (if the place is open on New Year's Day, so check first!), and a lot of those brunch places offer bottomless booze.
It's the first day of the New Year. You have off of work. Participate in some superstitions: make black-eyed peas, carry an empty suitcase, make a lot of noise. Then find your keys, feed your dog, and cross off any resolutions that have to do with your body, and replace them with something scary but exciting. Confess to a crush? Try to learn a song on guitar? Give yourself a tattoo? All great goals.
Have Fun and Look Good for New Year's
Congratulations—you did it. It's the New Year. There are so many ways that people celebrate New Year's traditions around the world. How do you like to ring in this brand new year?
