Although autumn has only truly arrived with fallen leaves recently, in fashion-time, it happened a while back. Catwalks had Christmas on their mind and the party dress sashayed, swept and shook down the runway in cute, cheeky and glamorous splendour.

One of the more notable developments is the future of Christmas glamour.

Dries Van Noten illustrated brand new ways of playing with the Christmas party dress, teaming knitwear and long draping skirts for a textured silhouette, exhibiting a look for the fearlessly fashionable and on-trend. Elsewhere, colour blocking continues to be a predominant factor. High street shops show off dramatic gowns in royal blues, chimney pot reds and blacks painting their thick stripes on soft billowing skirts of the maxi dress.

Thanks to the success of shows like The Only Way is Essex, high, polished glam is a look to nurture and be proud of. Off the shoulder frou-frou gowns with layers and frills on the derriere and shoulders for maximum feminine impact are popular power frocks for the party season and false eyelashes flutter and complement perfectly.

While there is no doubt that the sparkling, glittering party dress is a die-hard must-have for this season, there are challengers, like Dries Van Noten, who play on simplicity. The Mary Portas collection at House of Fraser plays down the glitz and keeps gowns tunic-shaped and simple, allowing for individual decoration. One of the more in-vogue ways to spruce a dress up is to make use of chunky accessories. Big necklaces, gentleman’s gold watches and thick, gold chains in their layers are all current trends and can make a simple silky off the shoulder dress a thing of maximum fashion beauty.

Heels to elongate the legs and a clutch are the ideal frame work for showing off your party dress to its full potential. As autumn falls, it’s worth taking stock of the various looks that can be tweaked and tried out for those Christmas parties.

1. The formal look – Get an accessory set with a fancy black stole (shawl) and sparkly little black clutch, and wear the dress to parties.

2. The warm winter look – Don’t let the weather discourage you from wearing a sexy dress. Make a warm winter outfit by wearing the dress with a pair of tall killer stiletto boots and a somewhat fancy black cashmere cardigan over it. The boots help keep your legs warm, but keep the cardigan open so you can see the dress.

3. The edgy leather jacket look – Create a completely different look by getting a pair of black stockings with a pattern (as opposed to solid) and wear it with a short leather jacket. Edgy make-up and a high pony tail. Don’t try to match it too much for this particular look, the purpose is edgy.

4. The black tuxedo jacket look – Wear a fancy blazer (not a suit blazer) made of black satin or black velvet, over the dress. Maybe a double breasted one. Keep it buttoned so that the jacket itself is the main feature of the outfit, but the dress becomes a skirt that makes the jacket more special. A choker necklace would go well with that.

(Never, ever regard a braidsmaids dress as a one night stand. It deserves a loving relationship like the rest of your dresses.)

When wearing a bold or bright colored dress with a work outfit, it is important to select a suit jacket that doesn’t detract from the colors of the dress. This white suit jacket makes the bright colors of the dress pop. It shows the colors. If you were to put a black suit jacket over this dress it would bring the colors down and make this work outfit slightly dull, and less visible. Although, on some days perhaps you feel like being less visible. This style of bright dress with jacket would be a good work outfit for someone who works in advertising or a creative field. Or perhaps for casual Friday.

Here are some examples of simple but classic plus size dresses that would work really well with the “suit dress” look. These dresses have clean lines and simple cuts, and would make a great work outfit. Put a classic black suit jacket over this dress and you’ll have a really nice casual business look. Your business attire wardrobe should consist of casual work clothes as well as formal women’s business suits. And having a couple of simple but classic dresses like these to wear under a suit jacket, gives more options to what you can do with your business suit.

I found these pretty dresses at OverStock.com

Some days you just don’t feel like wearing a conventional woman’s business suit. One alternative would be to wear a “suit dress”. Put on a straight, “pencil skirt type” dress, with a pair of smart pumps. If it comes with a matching suit jacket, then buy it too. If it doesn’t, then throw on a jacket from one of your standard woman’s business suits, and wear the jacket with the dress as suit separates. Black or charcoal gray suit jackets could be your reliable staple for this “suit dress look”. Accessorize with a pretty necklace and you are ready to go make things happen. This is a great way to vary your professional image.

Another version of this business look is the skirt with a long jacket (above).

No tights with business attire, please. Puh-leeaas! I don’t care how popular they are right now, you can NOT wear tights to work. On the mannequin in this photo somebody made an effort to make these tights look more formal and dressy by putting them with a blazer. No way. That just does not work. Maybe for a party, but not for a work outfit. It doesn’t matter if you try to turn a pair of tights into a business casual outfit by wearing them with a suit jacket. It looks terrible. (I seldom use blogs to simply rant, but today I couldn’t hold it back.)

Here are two examples of two pretty women, with two different body types, in two different white dresses – one for a full figured body and one for a skinny body. Compare the differences, and see how each dress compliments it’s wearer:

Michelle Obama is wearing a white dress that is flaired out at the skirt.

• Body type: Full figured.
• Dress cut: Dress with flaired out skirt.
• Accessories: A wide silver belt, that makes her hips look good.

Carla Bruni-Sarkozy is wearing straight dress with a thin belt.

• Body type: Skinny.
• Dress cut: The dress is straight all the way.
• Accessories: A thin black belt.

When you shop, buy work clothes with the right cut for the body type you have, not the body type you would like. We all come in different shapes and sizes. If the clothes don’t look right on you, it is never the body type that is wrong, it is always the cut of the garment that is wrong. There are no wrong bodies, only wrong clothes.

Compare how Michelle Obama’s white dress makes her hips look really good. Carla Bruni-Sarkozy’z hips aren’t so prominent but that belt makes them a little more noticeable. When you have a full figure, a wide belt is better. The thin belt looks better on Carla. The silver belt on Michelle makes a softer look and doesn’t contrast as much, whereas the thin black belt on Carla makes more of a contrast.

Photo credits: AP Thierry Chesnot

By: Danielle Gonzalez

Wearing a dress to as a casual work outfit is a timeless tradition that never goes out of style, it’s feminine and classic.  While the weather is still cold a sweater dress can be a perfect fit due to the warmth that it creates and the ease of accessorizing.  However, the sweater dress can automatically become too casual an office outfit for the workplace because of the large use of knit fabric which can be bulky and shapeless.  To keep the look clean cut, black nylons quickly do the trick to avoiding exposing too much skin and keep you warm while it’s still cold out. To avoid the bulk, a thick belt in a different color adds an hourglass figure; a patent leather belt adds a touch of youth and sex appeal.  For a more mature finish; ballet flats, an imprinted patent belt, and a strong bracelet are an easy way to round off a simple, comfortable and casual work ensemble. 

Dresses by: Chadwicks and Net-A-Porter.

By Danielle Gonzalez

With Winter receding to the warmth of Spring, it can be a challenge to bring the brightness of the season into the still chilly climate.  By mixing a few basic winter pieces with essential feminine spring items, the look is effortless and flirty.  The dark colored items of fall accent the brightness of the season in a mature way for all business attire.  For casual work clothes grab the long button up cardigan that was your winter favorite and pair it with an airy patterned spring dress.   For a work outfit that goes from day to night without changing one detail, a colorful dress or skirt with the staple black trench, is polished and strong wherever you go. Getting ready for spring doesn’t mean putting away your winter wardrobe, it simply means incorporating it with your colorful and patterned spring pieces.

Clothing from The Limited

By Danielle Gonzalez

Updating an office outfit can be as simple as adding a little white to give your business attire some pop.  White on black especially adds a modern and polished tone to any ensemble. To spice up the classic black suit, a crisp white blouse underneath always does the trick, but to give the woman’s business suit some flair, go for an off white silk, it’s unexpected glamour adds a soft femininity.  A dress with a bold white on black pattern is mature and fresh, paired with a black cardigan and black pumps makes its an understated power outfit.  And don’t forget about the white or creme jacket.  A long coat is more appropriate for dressier occasions and seen during the evening, but a cropped white jacket can be paired with any classic or trendy look in your professional wardrobe.  Even white accessories such as a purse, jewelry, or scarf gives a striking impression that is impossible to ignore in its intensity.

Look at right from The Limited

Be a smart girl and get the most mix and match outfits for your shopping money. Think ahead. Don’t just jump on one lovely garment, that you just must have. Look around and see what else goes with it. Sometimes the designers make it easy for us by purposely creating outfits that that meant to be re-combined, like these classy ensembles of dresses with suit jackets from St. John. But other times we have to search around the store to match our business suits up. Do bother the sales staff to help you match things up – they usually enjoy helping shoppers creating outfits.

As an alternative to the traditional woman’s business suit, you can wear a dress or skirt with a long coat over it. If the situation makes you want to feel a little more dressy, this is a great way to alternate your looks. But you may have to keep the coat on for most of the day, because if you take it off you may not look so professional in just a dress (especially if it is sleeveless). So keep that in mind when you plan your day in the morning. The long coat can be worn with pants as well, and you may want to check that you have a pair of pants that will go with it, when you buy it.