The Disco Outfits Edit: Five Lessons From the Studio 54 Dance Floor

Within approximately four seconds of any party invitation with a dress code, I have checked three things: whether there will be dancing, whether the shoes can survive it, and whether anyone will be filming. I have no shame about this.

 

But somewhere between the sequin minis, the satin slips and the thirty-second tutorials, disco outfits have gotten a little loud. We are told to shine like a mirror ball and also to look like we barely tried. We are told to wear a bodysuit, a boot and a bucket of glitter and also to stay classy. Mostly, a poor halter neck is being asked to settle the argument.

 

Which brings me to April 1977. According to the BBC, Studio 54 opened just off Broadway that month, run by Steve Rubell and Ian Schrager, who already had a club in Queens called Enchanted Garden. It was also the year of Saturday Night Fever, when disco reigned supreme. The clothes people remember from that room were not costumes. Vogue's history of the decade describes Halston with clingy jersey and Diane von Furstenberg with second-skin wrap dresses, all of it soft and made to move.

 

Some of this edit made me want to book a dance class. Some of it made me want to find a very good mirror. And some of it made me realize that the best disco outfit is mostly one confident fabric, one shine and a shoe you can actually stand in. So, here are five lessons.

Picture her at the edge of the dance floor in something that simply falls. The reason it works is old news: Vogue's account of the 1970s says Halston had clingy jersey and Diane von Furstenberg introduced her second-skin wrap dresses, and the whole decade favored a supple, skimming line. Von Furstenberg launched her wrap dress in America in 1974, and she told the BBC the stretchy jersey moulds your body and makes you look proper but sexy at the same time. I went deeper on a related idea in Fringe Dress: From Rain-Shedding Buckskin to the Dance Floor.

 

The dresses here follow that thinking. I would start with Victoria Beckham's draped satin-jersey midi in burgundy, or her Bela gathered satin midi in midnight blue. Tove makes the Zenaida strapless gown in gold, the one for the person who wants to arrive. Toteme has a draped crepe satin maxi in dark green and Lemaire a twisted wool-blend jersey maxi in black, the quieter, longer answers, and Blazé Milano's Skyros maxi in burgundy sits between them.

 

Here is the test: sit down, then raise both arms. If the dress travels with you and does not need adjusting, it can handle a dance floor.

 

What I would skip: the Self-Portrait embellished tulle mini, if the plan is to sit most of the night. It is a standing and spinning dress.

 

Although, spinning is rather the point of a disco outfit.

Shine is the one thing nobody argues about. Valerie Steele of the Museum at FIT says the things that looked good under the lights were shimmering and shiny, with sequins, lamé and Lurex all popular, and she points to a dress covered with sequins, with a halter top, as the glamorous look of the era. That is the rule I keep coming back to for studio 54 outfits: let one surface do the talking and keep everything near it calm.

 

Missoni's striped metallic crochet-knit dresses, one with sequins and a halterneck, do the shine through texture instead of glare. Self-Portrait's twisted sequined mesh midi in red is a single loud note. Carolina Herrera's sequin-embellished knitted gown in dark purple is the formal version, and Tom Ford's floral lamé-jacquard mini in silver is the one that reads as lamé from across a room. Brandon Maxwell's Fiora midi, Bode's Pyrite tulle kaftan and Taller Marmo's Vamp mini all make the same case in black.

 

What I would skip: stacking a sequin dress with a metallic shoe and a metallic bag. Pick the dress, let the rest be matte.

 

Although if you are the dress, I understand wanting company.

Not every disco outfit needs a hem. Vogue lists halter-neck tops among what disco dressing meant for women, and the swing of a wide leg underneath is what makes the silhouette look right when you move. Picture her in a flared trouser, a deep neckline and absolutely no costume jewelry.

 

For the bottom half, Frame has two: The Leather Reboot paneled flares in brick and The Rodeo suede flares in light brown. Arma has the Marina stretch suede wide-leg pants in brown, which lean the same warm way, while Brunello Cucinelli makes pleated silk-satin wide-legs in beige, the softest option here. On top, Tove has the Eden strapless draped satin top in gold and Khaite the Rone satin halterneck blouse in black, which do the plunging work, with Balmain for a draped jersey blouse in orange and Toteme for a slouch satin blouse in dark green when you want a little more coverage.

 

Here is the test: walk across the room and check where the hem lands. It should graze the top of your shoe, not drag under it.

 

What I would skip: a plunging top with a plunging jacket. Pick one neckline per night.

 

Although a very open neckline does keep the conversation interesting.

Platforms were never only a dance floor idea. The V&A holds a pair of Terry de Havilland snakeskin platform shoes from 1972, with a note that platform shoes were worn by both men and women. Vogue's 1970s history still puts platform heels in the disco look, and the extra height is a big part of why a hem swings so nicely.

 

The sandals here keep the height and ditch the wobble. Gianvito Rossi has two: the 130 pleated patent-leather pair in merlot and the Carol 35 velvet sandal in black. Aquazzura makes the Cupid twisted velvet pair in burgundy and the Ce Soir sequin-embellished metallic leather sandals in gold both arrive with an ankle strap story. Saint Laurent has the Tribute woven patent-leather sandals in green and the Debbie in brown, Ferragamo the Nerea in off-white and Chloé platform thong sandals in tan to finish the lineup.

 

Here is the test: stand in them for a full song at home before you leave the house. A platform that lets you shift your weight without gripping is a platform for dancing.

 

What I would skip: the tallest pair on the night you plan to climb a flight of stairs.

 

Although, honestly, we are all adults and can sit down for the third verse.

Finish like it is 1977. A Warwick history of 1970s jewelry notes that gold was the color of the decade, with golden hooped earrings, and i-D adds that the statement jewelry carried on into the 70s when disco divas like Diana Ross and Donna Summer embraced it. For women asking about disco outfits for women, this is the smallest edit with the biggest return.

 

Bottega Veneta has two hoop pairs here, one gold-tone and one in plain sterling silver. Spinelli Kilcollin's Pegasus hoops in sterling silver and 18-karat gold are the stacked, sculptural option, and Yvonne Léon's Créoles Bouées in 9-karat white and yellow gold are the rounder, softer one. For the bag, Rabanne's Sparkle mini sequin shoulder bag in gold covers the sparkle, and Brunello Cucinelli's Essence bead-embellished clutch in bronze, Loewe's Flamenco mini clutch in silver and Cult Gaia's Nala ruched clutch in silver go quieter.

 

Here is the test: shake your head. If the earrings stay out of your hair and do not hit your neck, keep them on.

 

What I would skip: a long chain, a hoop and a bracelet that all clank. Choose the sound you like.

 

Although a little jingle is not a crime.

If the five lessons add up to anything, it is that a good disco outfit is not an outfit at all. It is a dress that moves, one piece that shines, a leg that swings, a shoe you can stand in and gold that catches the light.

 

I will still be tempted to add a second sequin. I know this about myself. The 70s disco fashion that survived is the part that was easy to dance in, and any 70s disco outfit worth copying follows that rule. The rest was just glitter on the floor.

 

So here is the review I trust most: when you leave the dance floor and someone asks where you are going next, answer that you are staying.