How To Dress For New Year's Eve
By Joi Louviere
New Year's Eve is a big fashion deal. So many fun elements need to be thrown into one outfit, while still remaining classy. The holiday is like everybody's birthday at once. It's time to start fresh, open new doors and make changes for the best. It's a renaissance of the individual, I guess, and there's no better way to be reborn than to bring in the year with a fun and positive sense of style. Goals of the night: show some skin, sparkle, flaunt a big jewelry piece, and be sexy.
Ways to achieve this:
Take off your clothes…no really. You're being reborn, right? OK, so you don't need to get completely naked to have a satisfying New Year's (ha, ha) but a little skin never hurt anyone. The easiest and most appropriate way to accomplish this is not just by hacking off the bottom of your dress, but by playing peek-a-boo with other areas. Collar bones are a surprisingly sexy asset and can really be highlighted with a strapless dress. Shoulders are nice as well, but don't really mean much in a strapless or spaghetti strapped dress. Try a one-shoulder dress, leaving one arm completely out and one arm completely covered. The contrast is dramatic and sophisticated. Don't like your shoulders? Your back is a great place to emphasize. Backless dresses usually keep it simple in the front but when you walk away…WOAH. It's like a surprise for the loser who looked over you when he first saw your seemingly conservative threads. Expresshas great dresses for going out at affordable prices.
If you're going to show skin, make sure you're properly moisturized. Try using a shimmer lotion so your skin glows a bit when the light hits it. Victoria's Secret has many shimmering lotions to choose from.
Sparkling can be done many ways. Your shoes can shine, your fingernails can flicker, jazzy jewelry might do the trick and even your makeup can create the shimmery look. And then there's always a dress or a jacket, adorned in sequins or stones. I'm really into super shiny shoes. I think they look great with a solid color dress or a darker outfit. Steve Madden has really perfected the sparkly shoe. They aren't so shiny that they're tacky and they fit into nearly any budget.
I'm not so bold with makeup, but I love the cool ways people use color and texture to add to their outfit choices. Sparkly eyelids are extremely fun with a basic black dress and I'd even suggest sparkle on your lip. There are so many nail polishes out that offer metallic colors and glitter coatings. Those are easily my favorite. What girl doesn't want a party on her nails? Please don't overdo it. Sparkle accent on your eyes, lips, dress and shoes could have you looking like a firecracker drag queen, and while that might be an exciting way to bring in the New Year I cannot authorize it. Grab one of MACs many eye glitter options – whether loose sparkles or a shimmery eye shadow – at Sephora.
The best jewelry philosophy is less is more. Pick one big or bold piece and stick with that. If you must add others make sure they're small, simple and not screaming for attention. Sometimes you can double up. Bold earrings with an equally bold ring aren't too busy and a bracelet/earring combo isn't bad either. But mostly focus on making a statement in the neck area, on the ears or on the arm (singular, don't look like a gypsy.)
Chunky and ornate seem to be the accessory theme lately. Pendant earrings, heavy bracelets and busy necklaces are good choices. They say "Hey, I'm fun, creative and I can dance!" Banana Republic actually has a variety of funky, chunky necklaces.
Add a couple of the above elements to your NYE get-up and sexy will come. Feeling good about your body is really important in having a good night. It's important how you celebrate the holiday. It will set the precedent for the whole year. If you're sexy and confident that night then that's what you'll exude all year. If you look like a lazy bum then you'll probably be stuck in that attitude for a long time. Think of your fashion choices as helpers to you make your big decisions (career, family, relationships.) If you can't figure out how to pick out a good pair of shoes, how will you deal with the rest of life's decisions?
Joi Louviere has written for various news publications. She currently works as a newspaper copy editor and designer by day and a scrapbooking reality TV enthusiast by night.
