Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Class in the Closet

Okay, Okay so NYE has already passed for most of us but the Chinese new year has not happened yet, so I am going to use that as an excuse to write about NYE fashion.

The best thing about NYE fashion is that it is a time when you can go wild. It is a time to surprise, glitter, and pretty much go all out. You don't want to ring in the new year in sweat pants. Try ruffles, glitter, shoulder pads, faux fur, Zorro masks, head bands, brocade, hats, red lipstick! Whatever you wear, keep in mind the real element of a fashionable New Years look is class. For that reason, I usually air on the side of vintage for NYE parties because let's face it- that was the last time anyone in America had any class in their closet.

Most NYE dresses are black, silver, or gold and there is nothing wrong with that but let's not forget, with the right accessories there are a lot of other colors that can be worn on NYE. 

Personally, I like the element of surprise. Sometimes the girl in the purple dress outshines the one in head to toe glitter, if you know what I mean. Here is a tip for going with an unusual color: If you want to rock a different pallet, try to conform with the dress shape; that way you won't be a total oddball.

Some classic NYE shapes are: slim and shapely (for example a wiggle dress), a full skirt (poof!), a sweetheart neckline, or dramatic shoulders. Other classic NYE dress elements not pertaining to color are sheer fabric, ruffles, and shimmer. I tried to include these elements in my dress picks above. See if you can spot them all.

So what about the guys? If you're of the opposite sex or lucky enough to have a man in your life who heeds your fashion advice, read on.

In general, men's wear is less expressive than women's so, it can be a fine line between stylish and ridiculous. My advice is to pick 1 or 2 loud elements and then keep the rest neutral.


In these looks, the 'loud' elements are the shoes, the neck wear and the plaid shirt. Take note that these pieces are not really loud on their own, but in the context of the rest of the outfit they become interesting. You don't want to pick accent pieces that overwhelm your outfit but then again, you don't want to look boring.

So, how do you know where you can get bold and where you can't? A good rule of thumb is to pick exciting shoes. You can get away with a lot in footwear because it's hard distract from that far below the line of sight. If you have interesting shoes, it will set the tone for your outfit but not overwhelm it. Another thing to note is that it can be tempting to go with a bold necktie but it's very easy to overdo it- so, unless you're confident in your taste, stick with neutral neck wear and pick an exciting pattern for your shirt instead. It's harder to find an overdone dress shirt than it is to find an overdone tie so probability will be on your side.

Au Revoir, party people.

1 comment:

  1. :)

    Thank you... I will send you pictures as soon as I choose a fabric pattern.

    ReplyDelete

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