Fortunately, if you don’t know what you’re wearing for New Year’s Eve, you have a whole weekend to scour your closet, borrow stuff or go shopping! New Year’s Eve is Tuesday and there’s bound to be some great stuff on sale. But check your closet first. Those bills aren’t going to pay themselves 🙂
Let’s break it down by occasion, depending on your plans.
Cozy Night at Home or Small Gathering with Friends or Family.
The look: casual, comfortable and festive. Yay! Minimum planning and spending involved! But since it’s the last day of the year, and you want to ring in the new year on a great note, I would dress up your casual look just a little with a little sparkle. Maybe wear a glittery sweater with skinny jeans or black leggings, like this gray/metallic one from Torrid, put some Scunci rhinestone barrettes or a velvet scrunchie in your hair, and wear a little eyeshadow or lip shimmer.
Outdoor Evening New Year’s Eve Festival
The look: casual, warm and festive. So if you’re going to one of the great outdoor New Year’s festivals, the good news is the temperature is not forecast to drop below 30 and it’s not forecast to rain! There also will be a light, southerly wind. So it will not feel bitterly cold outside, but it will definitely be coat weather. You’ll probably be most comfortable in pants, jeans or leggings, a sweater, comfortable shoes or boots, and a warm coat. Here is a cute look from JCPenney. Is your coat kind of blah for evening? What about a packable down coat with some shine to it? Wear a nice sweater or top underneath to look good for indoor events or a meal out. You could add a glittery knit hat and some shimmery lip gloss and stay warm and look festive. Add a light-up necklace from the party store, leave the backpack at home but carry a small bag or wristlet for essentials.
Play/Concert/Fancy Dinner Date (with possible dancing)
The look: sophisticated, elegant and romantic. Since you will be probably be driving or taking Lyft, you could get away with heels and a dress or another after-five look that makes you feel great. In other words, of course you will need a coat, but warmth isn’t a real factor because you will be indoors the whole time. I would steer away from solid black, red, white and green, if you are dining out or going to the theater, as well as sequins. I also would counsel against a very short look because you will be sitting down a lot and you want to look classy. I like this Anthropologie burn out velvet dress that comes in Womens and Women’s Plus sizes for a New Year’s Eve at the Kennedy Center or a nice restaurant. If you spill some sauce on this, it won’t show the way it would on a solid color dress. It has shine and movement, which is nice for dancing.
I have a makeup tip that I’ve mentioned before. Rimmel makes a terrific eyeliner in metallic gold or silver. It can be very subtle if you apply it that way. You don’t have to put it all around your eye to really enhance your eyes.
Big New Year’s Eve Party or Gala (definitely with dancing)
The look: fun, stylish, flirty. Maybe you are going out with a group of friends to a big party, like the ones at the hotels in the area or the Reagan building. It helps to know the theme of the event when planning your outfit. Factor in that you’ll likely be wearing a party hat or tiara at some point in the evening. I would say, wear anything but solid black. It just fades into the background, it doesn’t look that amazing in photos and it makes you hard to find in a crowd. Maybe choose a metallic, like rose gold, silver, gold or a gray or blush tone. If your shoulders and arms will be bare, dust them with some metallic highlighting powder for a subtle sheen. I really like this Julia Jordan dress from Macy’s. It’s midi length, which is really in right now. It will look beautiful whether you’re sitting, standing or dancing. And it’s classy. It looks like it would be easy to wear.
The important thing is the bag. You will need to keep your bag with you, but you also will want to dance. You don’t want to ask someone to watch your purse all night and you won’t be able to relax if you just leave it on a table. Maybe you’ve come up with a good solution to this dilemma. I found a cute solution for 3 DOLLARS at Target. It’s a small, rosy pink metallic cross body. Big enough to hold your IDs, some cash and your phone. If you can’t find it, try Forever 21 and WalMart for festive but affordable, small crossbody bags and wristlets.
Whatever you do, wherever you go, and whatever you wear, have fun this New Year’s Eve!
Cool Yule 
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