Christmas belles: Deck your wardrobe with festive finery

Today’s snow queens are not icy maidens bedecked in ballerina drifts of tulle – if there’s tulle, it’s tamed with black leather a la Saint Laurent – but they sparkle in crystal dresses or in full-skirted glamour and counteract the cold with cashmere, merino knits or stand-out coats.

It’s the time when glad rags lift the mood and when gold and silver not only decorate the baubles but make everyone look slimmer, shinier and sassier.

Shot on location in the magnificent grounds of Druids Glen in Wicklow, the mix here is from the expensive to the affordable, from the high street to top international brands.

It embraces the ornate and embellished, the simplicity of black-and-white lace or the drama and romance of a long full silk skirt topped with a furry sweater. There’s a touch of Victoriana too in the high-necked elegance of nocturnal attire.

Christmas parties or family gatherings make demands at festive time for glamorous clothes that have to accommodate cold winter weather outside and heat and warmth inside, so voluminous gowns and luxurious fur trimmed coats, fake white teddy bear numbers (pioneered at Louis Vuitton and Stella McCartney) or wraps with pearly trims at Simone Rocha make it a time for some celebratory fun polished up with a frosty avalanche of dazzling jewellery.

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Photography: Naomi Gaffey (www.naomigaffey.ie)

Digital special effects: Dillon St Paul

Styling: Corina Gaffey

Assisted by: Rachel Potter

Make-up: celebrity makeup artist Christine Lucignano using Chanel Christmas 2015 and No. 5 Body Cream

Hair: Suzie Pollock for Zero One Salon, Mill Road, Greystones, Co Wicklow (www.zeroonesalon.ie)

Model: Faye Dinsmore at Andrea Roche Model Agency

Special thanks to Karina Dunne and Barry Hamilton

Shot on location at the 400-year-old Woodstock House at Druids Glen Hotel & Golf Resort, Co Wicklow, just 30 minutes from Dublin. (www.druidsglenresort.com)