Samantha Cameron is a party girl. She wasn’t previously – her brand Cefinn, which launched in 2017, specialised in workwear dresses and neat knits. But for 2023 she has created a dress that has proven a runaway success for the festive season.
The thing about her “Jacquetta” is that it suits every body. It’s a high-neck style with a sweet ribbon tie that skims over the curves and ends in a flattering mid-shin-to-ankle asymmetric hem. When she first designed an experimental iteration last year, in green velvet, it sold out. So for this year, she reinvented its winning formula with added choices – long sleeves or short, maxi or midi length, rendered in sequins, velvets and leopard print devoré.
“The pretty necktie was inspired by my love of a choker necklace,” Cameron tells The Telegraph. “There’s something sexy yet demure about them with a lovely vintage feel. The whole look reminds me slightly of a ringmaster, very theatrical.”
Despite a £340 price tag, the dress has all but sold out in a few sizes on her website (if your size is gone, check Net-A-Porter and MatchesFashion). It’s been worn by newsreader Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain, and presenter Katie Derham at a Christmas party. Gabby Logan and Kirstie Allsopp wore it in gold and green, respectively. Fashion stylist Anna Bromilow teamed hers with sky high embellished sandals, while the artist Daisy Sims-Hilditch styled hers with statement jewel earrings and a glass of fizz.
Fans on Instagram are in raptures – “It’s the dress for everyone,” wrote one. “So clever,” added another.
To create an It dress with these sorts of reverberations is a dream for a fledgling British brand – especially as a boost to the books during the Christmas trading period. Cameron might be up against the likes of Marks & Spencer (which itself has seen phenomenal success with a £49.50 bargain party frock of the year) but with her offering she can appeal to a different customer – a woman with, yes, more spending power, but who is ultimately looking for a grown up, figure-flattering buy.
“It is the ultimate statement party piece,” Cameron says. “It suits everyone, particularly if you’re curvy, as it’s sequin jersey. It hugs the body but with lots of stretch, [and has] an elegant long sleeve. We added an under frill for a model style shoulder line – it’s all in the details of the cut and finishing,” says Cameron.
Having a statement party dress in the wardrobe is perennially useful. Having one that you know won’t date, style-wise, and that you also know will make you look and feel your best, is even better.
Elsewhere on the high street this year, there are gems to be found at destinations from Monsoon to Me+Em. The former has gone big on recycled sequins, the latter with crushed velvet, but both in form-hugging fits. Thicker and textured fabrics are endlessly flattering in bodycon silhouettes – sexy, without actually revealing anything at all, and crucially allowing the wearer to stay warm.
We can imagine, though, that it’s the Jacquetta which Cameron will herself be donning this year – she wore a similar summer variation this year to George Osbourne’s wedding.
The sequin version, she says, exudes “Hollywood style glamour”. That applies whether you’re actually off to a black tie do, or the Foreign Office Christmas party.
Six more statement party dresses
Zola dress, £99, Nobodys Child, nobodyschild.com; Ester dress, £288, Reiss, reiss.com; Sparkle jersey dress, £165, Jigsaw, jigsaw.com
Velvet dress, £250, meandem.com; Batwing dress, £175, Leem at Selfridges.com; Recycled sequin dress, £200, Monsoon, monsoon.co.uk
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