Becca, from the UK, tells us about her outfit choice for NYE and what to look out for in 2010!

If like me, you looked into your wardrobe a few days before New Year’s Eve 2009 and thought what on earth am I going to wear to that party that will be suitable for seeing in 2010? Do I need to go out shopping and buy a whole brand new outfit?
Well, I’m here to help you and show you how to be on trend 2010 style!

Firstly if you read fashion magazines or just the fashion section in your favourite gossip weekly magazine, look at them, look at the trends and the styles.
Right now the top trends are lace, and sequins. If you walk into all the high-street clothing stores right now, that’s what you will find. But what if you can’t pick which trend to go for? Dorothy Perkins can help you. Here is my favourite DP outfit which is completely on trend right now, and very similar to what I wore to my New Year’s Eve party!

This dress is very 80’s with sequined shoulder pads to make it not just your simple LBD. Wear it with lace tights to look even more stylish. The next thing I bet your thinking is shoes. What shoes to wear… and it’s cold outside so you need to keep your feet warm, so some gorgeous ankle boots needed… but not just your simple ankle boot, add a twist with some stunning gold piping to make them stand out and look fabulous! Pearl accessories are great with any colour but look stunning with black – so a long pearl necklace and 6-row pearl bracelets would go perfectly with this outfit. A great outfit that made me feel fabulous on New Year’s Eve, ready for 2010!

Becca,
from,
Fashion Train
http://fashion-train.blogspot.com/

Bored of the same hair do? Looking for a fab 2010 quick fix for tired old 2009 hair? Look no further! Dominic shows us how to achieve a bouffant in under 2 minutes! Brilliant!

Grace tells us about her visit to a Dorothy Perkins Style Advisor…

My new best friend is Victoria. She is a 6 foot beauty with beautiful green eyeshadow and works in the Dorothy Perkins’ Bond Street Store as their Style Advisor. I don’t usually fall for strangers, but this one worked her wonders on me – I walked into the store feeling like a wet dog (it was raining and I was wearing fake fur) and was quickly transformed into a party girl.

Usually personal services like these are things you feel you should have to pay for, but Victoria was free, and she certainly did well because I left wanting to buy everything that she had picked out for me to wear.

I wanted something for a night out. I’m not a girly girl – sure, I love dresses and heels but I don’t go for the ultra polished look and am not into the head-to-toe sequin thing. Victoria took note and picked out some new arrivals – some skinny black jeans with a bit of bling that made my legs look long for once! (I’m not naturally blessed). On top a purple singlet looked wicked against my red hair and I even paid homage to the great Michael Jackson in an excellent double- breasted jacket complete with tassel detail on the shoulder. To top off the look these killer black high heel courts made me as tall as Victoria! A few intertwined skinny belts added some punk influence and I was done.

In the store’s style boudoir (I could have happily stayed there all day) we talked about my new look – I don’t think I’d ever had such a super quick and successful makeover (it was my lunch break). I felt great and I’ll certainly be visiting Victoria again.

You can find out more about the DP Style Advisors on DorothyPerkins.com

Much love

Grace x

Vampires are so hot right now! So Dominic shows us how to achieve a glam goth look – perfect for the dark nights this festive season!

Gilly, a stylist on DressMeDaisy.com and a style assistant at leading weekly UK magazine on style tribes this party season…

Whatever style tribe you’re aligned to – armed with DressMeDaisy.com’s top Dorothy Perkin’s party picks, you’ll be turning away the New Years Eve invites…

House Soiree
As Kate Moss and Co. will testify, house parties are the perfect time to let loose with your creative side. Make an entrance with a faux shrug, prepare to shine in a sequin frock and go all out with a bright slice of arm candy. Best of all, why not add a very YSL-esque pair of cage sandals to your opaques? They come with a very Dorothy Perkins sized price tag! Et voila, job done.

Black sequin dress
http://bit.ly/51DW1T

Jade snake chain bag
http://bit.ly/7Ijxhf

Black caged platform shoes
http://bit.ly/8cqtnX

Black Tie Ball
When it comes to red carpet glamour, there are no fashion limits. Fancy dabbling in this and next season’s power shoulder trend? Tempted to add a shot of colour to your wardrobe? Well, look no further than Lady V and Dorothy Perkins’s for your show-stopping frock. A sharp-shouldered frock will instantly boost your fashion credentials, add some heels to ensure that you’re the belle of every ball. Hairdo optional.

Black power sleeve dress
http://bit.ly/90OEH6

Gold glitter courts
http://bit.ly/54Mfyt

Down Your Local
Forget your old denim blues – these days even your local’s worthy of some red carpet treatment. A sequin jacket is so 2010 while leather’s set to be huge right up to spring. Or, why not get one step ahead of the style elite and invest in some florals and an oh-so spring/summer cardi now. Well, if it’s good enough for Alexa…

Black leather slouch boots
http://bit.ly/8nM8gN

Pearl flower ring
http://bit.ly/5vUv1I

Multi ditsy fit and flare skirt
http://bit.ly/4WEjm7

Grey quilted holdall
http://bit.ly/8el8Dl

Dinner Party
Steamed fish and a side order of air aside, there ain’t no party like a celebrity dinner party (we imagine). Obviously, you’ll spend most of your evening sat at the table – so your top half really needs to pack a punch. Think decorated décolletage, statement tops or jumbo jewels. Throw on a hot pair of super heels and you’ll be laughing all the way to your waiting limo (erm, Addison Lee)

Orange long metal edge clutch
http://bit.ly/6kLK1g

Mesh bead necklace
http://bit.ly/8GRObo

Cream angoretta tunic
http://bit.ly/4YTBjf

Grey cuff sandals
http://bit.ly/7nTyKH

While most of us in Europe and America are feeling the bitter cold, Selina from Auckland, New Zealand reminds us of the warmer side of the world and has chosen her favourite Christmas party outfit from DP.com too…

I have chosen my outfit on the basis that here in Auckland it’s starting to get hot and muggy, and a lot of parties will be based around the barbeque, with beers in hand and small children running around legs narrowly avoiding incineration while their fathers wave barbecue tongs at them and yell “get out of it you bloody kids!”, and the women slave away in the kitchen making enormous bowls of salad while chatting about how nice barbecue season is because the men do all the cooking!

So a cute little tunic over jeans, with some detailing on the accessories and of course the all important heels still feature – we like it Selina!

Check out Selina’s blog Pretty Clever and you can also find her previous post for Style Society here

Part 3 of our guest bloggers and their favourite outfits from DorothyPerkins.com

New to Style Society, Emily from Sugar and spice and all things nice let us know what she is getting up to on NYE and then chose her favourite party outfit for the evening – a powersleeved dress with some fab heels, a clutch and a big ring for a bit of bling! We like!

Lauren, from A Typical Atypical, has gone for the rock chick look with her outfit, but still keeping it feminine with velvet and a cute pink hair accessory. Perfect for a night out with girls for a good gossip.

Sarah, from Or False Glitter, helped us with the work to party dilemma and has chosen an outfit which works perfectly for the day to evening transition. A powersleeve black dress, teemed with some shoeboots, a clutch to accessorise, and the important coat to keep out the cold!

Emily, from Cardiff, on finishing the year off by celebrating the end of her shopping ban!

The thought of New Year’s Eve plans always leave me cold. There seems to be so much pressure to do something amazing and to have an amazing time whilst doing it. The implication being that if you don’t have an amazing time doing some amazing on New Year’s Eve then the new year will likely be anything but amazing itself.

This year I plan to buck the trend. After all of the excesses of Christmas and the festive party season I am planning a quiet dinner with my boyfriend to welcome in 2010.

But just because I am having a reasonably “quiet” night does not mean that I won’t be having one of those “what will I wear” moments.

No matter how full my wardrobe is and how recently I have been shopping, I always open my wardrobe with a heavy heart. But this New Year’s Eve might just be different. For the past 5 and a half months I have been on a self-imposed shopping ban which will come to an end just in time for me to buy something truly fabulous for dinner with my man!

My shopping ban was supposed to make me appreciate what I already had in my very full wardrobe and to maybe break my shopping addiction. However, with just two and a half weeks to go, all I can feel excitement at the thought of hitting the shops just in time for the post-Christmas sales.

I am a complete dress-fiend and therefore whatever happens, I will be wearing one for New Year’s Eve. There are so many lovely dresses out there at the moment and for the cold winter nights; there are plenty of sparkly long-sleeved dresses too. I love Dorothy Perkins’ power sleeve dresses which come in a huge range of colours.

I’ll be teaming my dress with a huge cocktail ring, some navy nail polish and, of course, a pair of heels.

Whatever you’re doing for New Year’s Eve, have a happy one!

Love, Shopgirl

From,

Sugar and spice and all things nice
http://sugarandspice-shopgirl.blogspot.com/

Black/silver powersleeve dress

http://bit.ly/5JQKpE

Black crossover sandals

http://bit.ly/8llq3E

Part 2 of our guest bloggers and their favourite outfits from DorothyPerkins.com – this time with our European friends of Style Society, lets welcome back Densy, Rachel, Gem & Emma!

Densy, from Syden, went for a power shoulder look teamed with jade accessories – perfect for adding a bit of colour. Note the matching of the gold piping on the boots with the subtle gold shoulders of the jacket. Nice!

Don’t forget to check out Densy’s post on those cold Slovenian nights

Rachel, who told us about why a girls’ night out is best has kept her fave outfit simple – yet elegant, a colourful dress with black shoes and clutch works really well. A little bit of sparkle jazzes it up nicely!

Rachel’s own blog – I <3 That

Gem Fatale opted for a playful  jumpsuit – purple accessories give it that colourful edge and the ‘love’ necklace adds the cute factor. Also – the all-important gel cushions to help those feet by the end of the evening!

Read Gem’s post on her nights out at uni

Emma, who loves going out with the girls, has gone all Sam Sparro on us, with a gorgeous black and gold ensemble. The power sleeved dress is complemented by some fierce heels – great look!

Read Emma’s Passion for Fashion blog

Our columnist Grace on getting a makeover for that work to party look to ensure she is glammed up and ready to go….

I’ve never been one to subscribe to the ‘au naturel ‘school of beauty. Perhaps I’m not lucky enough to have perfect skin and naturally sparkly eyes, but give me a lippy, blusher and some mascara and I’m all made up and ready to go. There are times though when I want to go that extra mile and have a makeover (and I don’t mean the kind dished out at my local department store by a woman with foundation so thick it cracks). There are good counters that offer free makeovers now (Mac and Benefit to name a couple) and when I’ve found myself a make up magician I feel a million dollars. The transformation that occurs often leaves me wondering if the face staring back at me is my own.

Feeling particularly faded and worn out today, I was taken quite literally into the loving hands of make up artist Dominic Webb. He didn’t comment on my lacklustre skin (lack of sleep from all the partying!), dark circles and heat damaged hair (I blame the GHDs).

With a few clever brush strokes and a bit of eyeshadow and liner he gave me sultry smoky eyes in minutes.

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting our simple and speedy hair and make up tutorials (The first one is up there on the right hand side now!)

The good news is that you don’t need to be a pro with a day set aside to learn new tricks that will provide you with instant glamour whatever the occasion. A couple of inexpensive tools and products and a few minutes are all you need. Christmas parties are now in full swing and your perfect frock and pair of heels aren’t the only things you should be focusing on – the hair and make up will be the icing on the cake.

Today I was talked through the art of updating my look from work to party – with the work Christmas Party this Thursday, I had been fretting over making sure my make-up still looks fresh at 5.30pm… Never fear though as Dominic talks you through how to ‘Glam & Go Go’ in 3 mins – perfect!

Much love

Grace

x