The most unexpected place to find a dress to shimmy in for the year-end festivities: Onitsuka Tiger

Increasingly, dressing for an occasion—any occasion—is not a thing. Looking like you made an effort is too much effort. People don’t even want to look spiffy for a wedding. We are not referring to gowns here; we are specifying those dresses—and they don’t have to sweep the floor—that are clearly designed to be worn at a party, especially one that celebrates the good times or the closing of a good year. The thing is, when you look around you, stores are starting to stock clothes for Chinese New Year (another occasion people have little regard for in terms of dress), even when shoppers are still in the throes of Christmas buying. There is very little that immediately tells you this or that is for glowing in the sparkle of ferry lights, to hold a glass of bubblies in and then to go dancing with the gang in, too.

Until we saw this eye-catching shift at Onitsuka Tiger, where we always go for sneakers, occasionally for clothes, but never party wear. It really was a surprise to see this short column of a dress, so appealingly layered and judiciously sequined that Daisy Buchanan would approve. And, thankfully, it is not a mini-anything. The made-in-Japan dress, designed by Andrea Pompilio, is fashioned entirely out of silk and has a fold-over in the front to give the impression of “wrapping yourself in a bath towel”, according to Onitsuka Tiger. We like that it is in khaki rather than severe black (although it is available in that too). Part of their season’s ‘Urban Winter’ collection, it is sequined in blocks for a rather graphic effect, which is just adequate for the minimalist in us, and a tad more fun than a dress without glittery textures. Just what the season demands.

Onitsuka WS sequined dress, SGD1,200, is available at Onitsuka Tiger, Takashimaya Shopping Centre and online. Photo: Zhao Xiangji