Apparel + Shoes + Accessories: Holiday party fashion advice from experts

By Bronwyn Turner
Correspondent


Want to make Santa’s best-dressed list this year? Don the right apparel before you head for decked halls and you’ll be a hit at the holiday parties, area experts said. Here is a look at their Top 10 list of holiday fashion must-haves.

The Little Black Dress

“It’s more of a must this year because people are watching their pockets a little bit more, and it’s easy to make the black dress look different twice,” Jesse Conrad, owner of The Firm in Galveston, said.

Diana Montes, who co-owns Jill’s Fashions and Bridals with her husband in League City, is seeing dresses with one shoulder — “they call it the cold shoulder look.” Backs of dresses are a fashion statement as well, with cutouts and low backs.

Monica Barry, owner of ha.ba.’s in Galveston, advises going with color in holiday fashions, or if you have to wear the black dress, pull out the bling. “Really pump it up with large accessories and bright colors,” she said.

Sequins

Sequin dresses are back in again, with the large paillettes (sequin spangles used to detail and trim, sometimes of different shapes), Montes said. Conrad is seeing a lot of sequined shoes as well.

Glitz And Bling

“If you watch what’s going on with all of the MTV and teenage girls, bling everywhere is in — big bangle bracelets, big chunky necklaces, the big rings with lots of rhinestones on them,” Montes advised. Conrad sees glitz and gold in hair clips and bags as well.

Clutch Bags

Look for the bangle bracelet clutch bag. “You put it on your wrist instead of carrying it under your arm,” Dina Austin, store manager for Rainbow Apparel in the Mainland Crossing Shopping Center in Texas City, said.

Montes likes the “little bitty sequined handbag that can hold your cell phone, camera, compact and lipstick. ... For parties, clutches are hugely in.”

Shoes That Make A Statement

“Stiletto heels are still in, much to our chagrin — the higher the better, especially if it’s on a platform, like a 5-inch heel on an inch platform,” Montes said. Ankle and tall boots are part of the holiday fashion this year as well, the women said.

Barry noted the new shoe décor — open-bottomed leather bangle boots or high leather boots that attach to high heels. “Shoes are another way to dress up,” she said. “Nothing is just a simple pump any more.”

Leggings

Leggings in lace, fishnet and gold or silver lamé are fashionable this holiday season. Look for leggings worn under sequin dresses, with lots of color.

Faux Fur

Jackets, shawls, and capes with fur trim are in fashion. Watch for marabou, with small, fine fluffy feathers, in jackets and shawls. For the Interfaith Caring Ministries holiday style show last week in League City, Montes dressed a model in a form-fitted dress with an animal print top and faux fur jacket.

Shawls And Wraps

Shawls with sequins, knitted shawls, marabou feather shawls and psychedelic-colored shawls are all in fashion. Montes also likes a small marabou shrug (cropped garment that covers less than a vest worn over a shirt).

Vivid Colors And Prints

Animal and abstract prints are right for the party scene. Montes advises the color purple.

Makeup

Look for purples and pinks in eye shadow, and a little sparkle on the shoulders.

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Five Fashion Follies

• Trying to look older or younger. “Remember, our minds don’t age as quickly as our bodies do,” Diana Montes, who co-owns Jill’s Fashions and Bridals with her husband in League City, said. Teenage fashions are for teenagers.

• Clashing colors. Coordinate lipstick with your outfit. Stay within the same color palette.

• Poor fits. “Sometimes people can wear something that’s ill fitting and look disheveled,” Montes said.

• Rouge is not in. The more natural look is in.

• Embarrassingly form-fitting clothes. “You always want to accent the positive,” Montes said. “We all come in all shapes and sizes. It doesn’t matter if you’re a size 0 or size 32, you still want to look beautiful.”

SOURCE: Experts offer holiday party fashion must-haves

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