Looking for a party dress this festive season? You may be after something short and sparkly that's made for dancing, perfect for a New Year's Eve night out. But ‘party dress’ doesn't just refer to silver sequin minis or the classic little black dress. In fact, this season there are more trending options than ever before, and one of our favourites is caped designs.
If you've had your finger on the fashion pulse, it perhaps shouldn't come as a surprise that capes are trending. After the uber-popularity of scarf add-ons featuring across all forms of outerwear, tops and dresses, it figures the soft draping silhouette has continued to evolve. From classic capes knotted around necks as an additional layer to built-in styles, the design detail was spotted across the autumn/winter 2025 runways at the likes of Chanel and Ralph Lauren.
Naturally, the high street has followed suit with the look dominating occasionwear. But it's actually a far more wearable trend than you might think. Take H&M's Jersey Cape Dress.
The midi dress is constructed from a comfortable jersey fabric for a fitted but still flowy silhouette featuring flattering ruching across the mid-section for a draped effect. However, the focus of the design is on the built-in cape overlay that has a gathered seam at the front and back for added interest. Coming in a gorgeous rich burgundy hue – AKA the colour of the season – this dress ticks off two big trends.
When it comes to styling, we'd wear with party shoes (make sure to check out our round-up of *actually* comfy styles to shop now) for any more formal yuletide events, but this dress could easily work for the day too if you pair it with classic black boots. If you opt for knee-high boots, try pulling the dress up at the waist to create tighter gathers to show off more of your footwear.
With such a statement design, we'd keep accessories minimal, giving you one less thing to think about. (You're welcome).
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Alexandria Dale is the Digital Fashion Writer at Cosmopolitan UK. Covering everything from the celebrity style moments worth knowing about to the latest fashion news, there’s nothing she loves more than finding a high street dupe of a must-have designer item. As well as discovering new brands, she’s passionate about sustainable fashion and establishing the trends that are actually worth investing in. Having worked in fashion journalism for six years, she has experience at both digital and print publications including Glamour and Ok!
