It\'s surprising that so many of us dress up our homes for the
holidays but not ourselves.
And, no, I don\'t mean bedazzled Christmas sweaters.
Call me crazy, but when you\'re hosting or attending a festive
activity, you should look the part, Sure, you can be a charming
house guest in denim and a T-shirt, but would it kill you to wear
cocktail cocktail attire or at least something that looks more special than
your everyday garb,
I\'m going to say one of those snooty fashion-people things and
tell you that dressing up for an occasion is a sign of respect, You
are also wearing your appreciation and indicating that you came to
party, Earrings cheap bridal accessories cheap bridal accessories not on a whim, not because you had nothing else to do.
Parents are good at dressing up their children for special
family affairs, but more often than not, the boys are wearing
little gentleman suits and the girls are in frilly dresses dresses , but Mom
and Dad are in jeans, Can you hear my tsk-tsking,
It\'s obvious that the kids are dressed up because it\'s supposed
to reinforce that they are to behave accordingly (and they just
look darn cute), but grown-ups need to practice what they
preach.
A room full of dressed up people is the best kind of decoration.
What host wouldn\'t appreciate that,
Of course the same goes for restaurant, concert and theater
crowds, It doesn\'t take a lot of effort to look more stylish, but
it does take a little effort.
And if you\'re afraid that you\'ll be the only one dressed up or
overdressed, don\'t, Overly sexy can go wrong, But if you dress dress as
if you might run into your boss or your nosy neighbor, you\'ll
probably hit the right tone.
But before you head out the door, consider some of the
following.
Hair: The same hairstyle you wear on weekends
at the farmers market might not be the same hairstyle you should
wear with cocktail attire, That goes for men and women, Take a few
extra minutes to style your hair, Add a bit of gloss, smooth it,
curl it, add a braid, part it on the opposite side, Do something
that makes the people who see you everyday take pause and wonder
what\'s different.
Makeup: Anyone who doesn\'t use a daily
sunscreen and moisturizer is doing their skin a disservice, Enough
said, But when it comes to cocktail attire, I\'m a huge fan of
makeup, I\'ve discovered that whenever I wear red lipstick people
treat me like I\'ve lost 10 pounds, At the minimum, women should
consider lipstick and mascara (a nice sweep of shimmer or plum
color on the lids is a good idea, too) and men should wear a clear
moisturizer on their face and lips.
Legwear and footwear: Sheer black hosiery will
never go out of style, but with all the options for designs, who
could pass up the opportunity, You don\'t need a new little black
dress when you have a new little pair of textured, striped,
snake-skin print, dotted or otherwise adorned tights or hosiery.
It\'s also a great excuse to wear a dress that shows a little more
leg, And dark tights have now become so popular on runways that you
can wear them with your open-toed shoes (the style isn\'t right for
everyone, but if you feel comfortable, go for it), And guys aren\'t
going to get off the hook here, Cocktail dresses, short dresses, little red cocktail dresses, classic black cocktail dresses at lowest price without comprising on quality. Dress socks, not athletic socks,
are apt for evening wear , and if you can\'t remember when you bought
them, replace them, The same goes for the shoes: Men in beat-up or
outdated clunky dress shoes are an eyesore (yeah, I said it).
jewelry jewelry pretty dresses pretty dresses: Wear the special earrings you always
forget to wear, bracelet you love but think is too nice, the
necklace you got as an anniversary gift, the fancy watch that you
can\'t read without reading glasses, Wear anything that will make
you feel more special as long as it works with your outfit.
Cellphones: I know you\'re probably thinking
that I\'m going to tell you to leave it at home, in the car or out
of sight, but I\'m not that deluded, The truth is that for people
who constantly have a cellphone within arm\'s length, leaving it at
home is not an option, So here\'s a proposal, Use it to do some
good, not just updating your Facebook status Wedding Jewelry , Dress up your phone.
If you use a case, consider a party case: Case-Mate makes \"Glam\"
cases in hot pink and gold ($40 at amazon.com), or maybe the matte
amethyst or silver case is more your speed ($16 at amazon.com), For
men, perhaps you\'ll be interested in Vivo\'s shaved Shagreen iPhone
case available in black, sand white homecoming dresses white homecoming dresses, celadon and (my favorite) mint
($64.99 at ellaandboss.com), Really, what\'s cooler than a phone
with a stingray case, However, there are more than 16,000
whimsical, graphic prints and sleek skins at Redbubble.com
($35-$40) that transition from day to night discount ball gowns discount ball gowns, disco to ballroom.
If you\'re with friends at a party, take photos, but you can also
send them photo e-cards via email, text, Facebook or real mail
later (RedStamp.com is a great free app for that).
There are tons of apps that will also manipulate your photos to
make them look weathered or vintage or just highly stylized.
There\'s even a mustache photo app (you can mustache everyone in the
photo), if you\'re into that kind of thing.
And needless to say, dressing up your screen with a holiday
screensaver isn\'t such a bad idea either, Maybe it\'ll remind you to
look up from your palm and enjoy the party.
