Ready to sparkle

Holiday party season is near. Christmas parties, New Year’s parties, let’s-party- because-we-can parties.
Thank your host that plenty of parties require little more thought than which sweater and what earrings. But when you need that perfect party dress, a fairy godmother is not available to select it for you. (The upside of the missing godmother: Your car doesn’t suddenly turn into a pumpkin if you break some arbitrary curfew.)
So, first rule in the hunt for a party dress: Classy trumps trashy. Heidi Klum said it best during the fifth season of “Project Runway,” “Short, tight, and shiny is the fastest way to look cheap.”
Heidi, I couldn’t agree more.
But how short is too short for the party season?
“Most of the dresses we carry are above the knee,” said Kelly Poole, owner of Ellie, 113 North College Street in Auburn.

Just-above-the-knee dresses are the perfect length. The slightly longer-than-promiscuous hem shows off shapely legs but doesn’t insist on bragging about them. An added bonus: When your dress is longer than a shirt, you won’t accidentally tuck it into your tights. Not that you’d ever do that of course.
Second rule: Do not look like you couldn’t decide between a dress and wallpaper. Easy on the patterns.
“We have a lot of solid-color dresses this year and not a lot of patterns,” said Kaci Wilson, manager of Simply Charming, 140 North College Street in Auburn. “Metallics and bold colors — red, cobalt blue — are big for this season.”
Poole also recommends purple, teal, mustard yellow and black to the list of must-have colors.
As always, the little extras dress up the dress.
“We have dresses with gems on them and other embellishments to make it fancier,” Poole said.
Wilson said added details like gems and ruffles really set dresses apart this season. Closer to the Christmas, expect the sequin count to rise.

If you’re not a dress kind of gal, this is your year.
“Toward the holiday, women are going to be wearing more skirts,” Poole said. “Pencil skirts are great.”
You can dress up a pencil skirt for a fancy holiday party or dress down for a more casual occasion. A pencil skirt with a high waist takes things to a new level of sophistication.
Separate pieces can dress up any outfit. Fitted blazers, left open and belted, are genius additions. For inspiration, check out Diane Von Furstenberg’s fall 2008 ready-to-wear collection. (www.dvf.com/fall_2008/) She pairs blazers, jackets, long sweaters — pretty much any form of outerwear — with dresses and skirts, but adds a belt for a more put-together look.
Pants are not high on this year’s best-dressed-up list. Instead, opt for tights under dresses and skirts. If you simply have to wear pants, look for mid- to high-rise trousers with wide legs paired with heels. You can do the same belted open-jacket trick with the right pants that you can do with a skirt. If you insist on skinny trousers, make a statement with the top, something with fabulous details, bold color, or gorgeous gem embellishments at the collar.

Finally, it is not overkill to have two holiday outfits. Keep one bagged and tidy in the backseat at all times. I’m not kidding. That way, you’re covered if you spill your drink or worse. And you’re always prepared should an opportunity to look marvelous arise on short notice. You can’t quite pull the Superman trick and change in the phone booth — when was the last time you’ve seen one of those, anyway? But you can duck into the ladies' room and it’s almost as if you have superpowers. And you’ll certainly have a super look.