Reader Barbara wrote in to our 10 Outfits for 10 Occasions contest for advice to a common problem. She loves her strappy heels, especially when dressing up for New Year’s Eve, but feels uncomfortable when she’s taller than her boyfriend. Luckily there is no shortage of fancy flats out there this holiday season. So, while we concentrate on a Miu Miu pair as part of our outfit, we’ll also give you options at a few different price points. Barbara mentioned sequined cocktail dresses, so we chose this Stenay sequin dress from Nordstrom for $228 to start off this outfit.
Adyna entered our 10 Outfits for 10 Occasions contest so now not only is she in the running for a Chloe & Reese dress, a handbag from The Sak, or a dinner at Bruno Jamais, but she gets her what to wear question answered as well. Adyna picked up some summer dresses she was hoping to convert to winter wear with a satin shrug that just covered the shoulders. She has a leopard print Bebe maxi dress, but we thought we’d show you the Roberto Cavalli for H&M leopard maxi dress since we know so many of you have them. Well, you were right Adyna, it is nearly impossible to find a black satin shrug. While we found one by DKNY at our local Marshalls, it was nowhere online and we wanted to show you something we knew you could get. So we found this chiffon shrug at David’s Bridal – one of our secrets for non-bridal formalwear. Keep reading for more details on this outfit!
Golden accessories are all the rage at the holidays. We’ve already talked about Carrie Underwood’s golden hair over on ShinyGloss, and now we’re concentrating on her gorgeous gold bag. It perfectly offsets her lovely red gown. The Nancy Gonzalez exotic skins handbag and accessory line from which Underwood chose her croc clutch is available at Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Not only could you wear it to formal occasions with a long dress like Carrie did here, we could also see this clutch with jeans and heels for a night out.
The latest YouTube series from Atoosa Rubenstein’s Alpha Kitty channel features interviews with fashion personalities like model Taylor Warren, writer Faran Krentcil, and shown here actress/socialite Byrdie Bell. Bell believes in packing light and accociates her sense of independence with not becoming too attached to material posessions.
Turkey day may be over, but there’s still plenty of occasions left to wear Blair Waldorf’s Thanksgiving Day dress from this week’s Gossip Girl. Blair passed on turkey for pie anyway, right? While Blair’s maid suggested she wear this MARC by Marc Jacobs metallic dress “with pearls” we think it’s much more easily worn in an ecclectic, downtown, “I always wear Marc Jacobs dresses to the grocery store” way. It’s sold out right now, but I’ll bet with Blair’s blessing they’ll get more in.
So, we all know that knee-high boots are the big trend right now, but what should you wear under them? With winter approaching, it’s getting a little cold to just wear tights under those boots, so we’ve found some stylish socks at reasonable prices from Urban Outfitters that are thin enough to fit under those leg-hugging boots, but thick enough to keep those tootsies cozy. These Sparkle & Fade knee-high socks come in three different designs–cascading hearts, denim and solid–as well as different colors. Get three for $24 or a pair of the solid design for $7. This is the best deal I’ve seen so far–knee-high socks from Banana Republic run as much as $14 a pair…
This holiday season, Macy’s has a wonderful Holiday Shopping Guide with a stylish selection of looks for Office to Evening, the Casual Party, Cocktail Parties, and Black-tie Events. They offer dresses and skirt and top ensembles that will definitely get you noticed and maybe even stopped under the mistletoe. My favorite Office-to-evening outfit was the shimmering Gold Tommy Hilfiger Silk Pleated Skirt for $98.00 paired with a sophisticated sequin top like the INC International Concepts® Embellished Cutaway Top for $79–wear a black cardigan during work and then remove it afterward to let loose and party it up! The same goes for this sophisticated plum T Tahari Belted Satin Scoop-Neck Dress for $163.50. Continue over to the jump for more holiday apparel.
Party dresses are absolutely necessary during the holiday season what with all the merrymaking, gaiety, and festivities. Whether you need an outfit for Thanksgiving, a Christmas party, or a Hanukkah celebration, you’ll need to put together a look that is both flattering and family-appropriate. Rosette dresses are great for this task.
The mulberry-colored sleeveless rosette dress by Lela Rose has delicate flowers around the neckline, pleats along the front, and a mid-thigh skimming hemline. Pair with mother-approved opaque tights, ankle boots or pumps, and a cardigan. The dress costs $1,195 at NeimanMarcus.com.
A very hot trend this season is the full, pleated figure skating-style skirt as seen on WhoWhatWearDaily. Usually super short and flowing, it can also be worn longer, as shown above on Ashley Olsen and Molly Sims. Pair it with a wide, high-waisted belt, opaque black tights and metallic or patent leather pumps to complete this ultra-fab look. And don’t worry, this is not a one season trend–you’ll get full wear of this chic skirt through spring and summer ’08. It was a haute trend throughout the runways of PPQ (above, right), Proenza Schouler, and Donna Karan. Continue to the jump to find out wear you can find your own figure-skating-like fashions.
Net-a-Porter has a new feature called Runway by Designer that’s basically like being able to click and shop on Style.com. You pick a designer’s runway, like Burberry Prorsum above, and Net-a-Porter gives you pictures of the looks they have for sale. Not only can you just click to get the shoes or outfit you want, but you also get a nice little rundown on the designer’s trends of the season. For instance you can read about Christopher Bailey’s tough-chic collection and advice to accessories with hard-edged extras when you buy the patent leather coat, $5,225, at far left and register for an update when the sandals come in stock. If you’ve got the budget, this could revolutionize how you shop the runway.
Like Nicole Kidman’s look at the New York Cinema Society’s screening of “Margot at the Wedding?” Come on, when don’t we love Nicole Kidman’s look? Well to get the look yourself, it’s all about the buttons! Take a flattering pea coat – Nicole’s ultra slim style isn’t flattering on everyone, find one that suits you perfectly, we chose a $290 Calvin Klein number. Then sew on some gold buttons. If you’re really crunched for time or don’t want to sully your hands with menial work, it would probably cost about $10 at the dry cleaners if that.
Shiny Style has told you how much we love sequin dresses and sequin leggings, but we also love sequin miniskirts. Sequins are huge this fall as a quick way to create a nighttime-glam outfit and to turn heads as soon as you strut into that bar or party. Victoria’s Secret has a great sequin skirt for only $98, perfect paired with a crisp white button-down and black pumps.
I think a lot of times when we’re going to go for color, we try to keep the style simple. Or if we’re wearing sequins, we feel most comfortable in black. Well, when Rihanna shot her cover for Teen Vogue all those rules went out the window. Since you don’t have a personal stylist when you’re getting ready, check out this video about how they styled Rihanna for the shoot.
This week, one of Shiny Style’s favorite fashion bloggers, The Budget Fashionista, and Streetpeeper.com teamed up to dissect the look of one very fashionable Londoner. The girl wore a stand-out red plaid cape, with a simple gray jumpsuit underneath. The Budget Fashionista suggests, “that it’s good to have a really interesting, fun staple item that says something about you, and adds some personality to your wardrobe at the same time.”
Reese Witherspoon paired a beautiful purple satin knee-length dress with leg-lengthening nude heels at the at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel in L.A. last night. Reese was presenting during the show, and provided a perfect example of why you shoudn’t always resort to length when going formal. The satin fabrication and saturated, sophisticated color of her gown made it perfectly appropriate for a special evening event, especially with sky-high nude Louboutins. As someone considering purple for holiday this year, I hope to take cues from Reese on how to do it.
So, we all know that knee-high boots are the big trend right now, but what should you wear under them? With winter approaching, it’s getting a little cold to just wear tights under those boots, so we’ve found some stylish socks at reasonable prices from 
This holiday season, Macy’s has a wonderful Holiday Shopping Guide with a stylish selection of looks for Office to Evening, the Casual Party, Cocktail Parties, and Black-tie Events. They offer dresses and skirt and top ensembles that will definitely get you noticed and maybe even stopped under the mistletoe. My favorite Office-to-evening outfit was the shimmering Gold 
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