Best Holiday Dresses for Any Occasion

The holiday season is here, and that means it’s time for holiday parties! And while we all love a good ugly sweater party, we hope that you’ll get invited to a few more sophisticated affairs this holiday season as well. If you’ve got a holiday party coming up, you’ll need the perfect dress for it—something festive, but chic enough you can keep wearing it all year long. Keep reading to get tips on shopping for holiday party dresses.

Avoid Heavy Themes

There is a time and a place to wear a blinking Christmas tree, and it’s not a sophisticated Christmas party. (That’s what those ugly sweater parties are for, remember?) So, avoid getting a holiday dress that’s a bit too heavy on the holidays. You want to look seasonally stylish, not like you just escaped from the North Pole.

Focus on Festive Colors and Sparkle

So, if you’re avoiding anything that screams “I am a Christmas dress,” how can you ensure that you’re dressed festively? The trick is to focus on festive colors with a little sparkle and shimmer. The great thing about the holiday season is that everything always seems to sparkle; so, if your dress echoes that, you’ll already be donning some Christmas spirit! Look for dresses in a deep green or red to reflect Christmas colors while still allowing you to wear the dress for the rest of the year.

Sparkly silver and gold are also great for Christmas parties and New Year’s Eve parties alike. You’ll light up the night in a sequined gown. Or, if you want something with some shimmer that’s not entirely bedazzled, you can look for fabrics that have their subtle shine. Satin has a gorgeous sheen to it, and many other materials can have shine or glitter added to them without being overwhelming.

Layering for the Occasion

What if you have multiple holiday parties coming up, but your dress budget is tight? You can make the same dress work for many different occasions with some layering and proper accessorizing. A shawl or cardigan over a strapless dress can add some modesty and sophistication to make the gown more appropriate for a more formal affair. Or, if you have a dress with mesh cutouts, you can layer a body shaper beneath the dress for more coverage at specific matters while showing off some skin and ramping up the sex appeal at events that call for it.

The right shoes and jewelry can also completely transform an outfit, so be sure to consider all the different ways you could style the same dress for various parties!

The Little Black Dress

If you’re looking for a versatile piece, you can’t go wrong with a little black dress. While there’s nothing inherently “festive” about a black cocktail dress, its versatility makes it suitable for any occasion—even Christmas parties. You can add festive shimmer with the right jewelry or pops of holly-berry red in your shoes and clutch. Styling a little black dress with some more holiday-focused accessories is a great way to be dressed stylishly for a holiday party while adding something you can wear year-round to your wardrobe.

Holiday parties can range widely, from the very casual to the very formal. It’s essential to understand the dress code of any party you’re attending before purchasing cocktail dresses or other party attire. But if you follow these tips, you should have no trouble finding the right dress and styling it appropriately for any affair—whether it be during the holiday season or any other time throughout the year!