I love holiday parties! Not only do we get to spend time with friends that we don’t frequently see, but it is one of the few times during the year that we get to dress at our most festive! This presents opportunities as well as challenges.
I have previously discussed some comments from an interview about the company holiday party but they bear repeating. One man shared that a female colleague with whom he had worked on projects and admired greatly for her expertise, wore a particularly seductive dress to the company party. He stated that he never again saw her in the same light – he always pictured her in that seductive attire. Yikes! To think that years of education and expertise can be thrown away in a moment by creating the wrong image. Although most company parties will now be history, New Years parties are coming and some of the principles are pertinent to any holiday party.
I looked through several web sites to get a flavor of what is available this year and was delighted to find that most everyone can find a beautiful dress that would be lovely for each body shape and personal style. I selected several examples from the Saks web site to feature.
This beautiful orange-red lace dress is ideal for an elegant, feminine wearer. This style would be lovely on most body shapes with the exception of an oval or a triangle with much wider hips than shoulders. The warm tone of red will be ideal for someone with warm skin tones. I like the gold evening sandals.
The simple black sheath with lace sleeves and yolk will also be becoming for similar body shapes to the red lace. This lace sleeve is ideal for ladies who prefer not to show their arms. This dress would be especially flattering for an inverted triangle, drawing attention up to the face without drawing attention to the shoulders. It could be accessorized with drop earrings if the hair is pulled back. The black evening shoes are a good choice with dark hair, otherwise, I would choose gold or even a neutral sandal that relates to the hair color.
The midnight blue is an ideal choice for a triangle whose hips and/or thighs are noticeably wider than the shoulders. If one wore short hair or had their hair pulled back, a lovely necklace or drop earrings would be a beautiful accent.
I selected this multi print for the creative dresser. If you like to be a little off the grid and show your unique style, this is an example of one way to pull this off. To wear a print this bold, you will need a lot of presence and strong coloring. If you have the presence but soft coloring, choose less color contrast. You could even choose an unusual color combination. The key is for you to be the center of attention — not the dress. These pumps appear more daytime than evening so I would choose evening sandals, following the guidelines previous mentioned.
There are many excellent choices for beautiful, tasteful evening attire that will be perfect for you. Whether shopping at resale shops, Target or Saks Fifth Avenue, you can look fabulous on your budget. Don’t forget to add the perfect little evening bag to complete your look!