Little Black Dresses (LBDs for Christmas Party

Everyone loves a LBD (Little Black Dress). It's the always classic, always reliable dress that you can pull out for those festive occasions, e.g. the office Christmas party. These days, the LBD comes in a variety of styles, shapes and silhouettes. The best thing about them is that they are like a blank canvas for you to dress up or down as required. Simply add some bling for a glammed-up look, or throw on a pair of ballet flats for those casual events. You know the drill by now - here are our favourite ten LBDs under £100 for this year's party season.

Above L-R: 1. Love Label Black Tutu Prom Dress, £65. 2. Motel Rocks Meg Dress, £39. 3. Topshop cut-out side ruched dress, £50.

Above L-R: 4. Republic Miso Tutu Dress, £69.99. 5. Lipsy by Pixie Lott Bandeau Prom Dress, £75. 6. Zara Short Sleeve Dress with Full Skirt, £39.99. 7. H&M Black Ruffle Dress, £24.99

Above L-R: 8. Topshop Fabienne Dress by Jones and Jones, £65. 9. Oasis Black Bow Prom Dress, £40. 10. ASOS Dr Denim Panelled Body Con Dress, £55.

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Velvet Party Dress for Christmas

Velvet Party Dress for Christmas

When thinking of Christmas party dresses, velvet isn't the first thing that usually springs to mind. But after Emma Watson recently stepped out on the red carpet in that black velvet Vionnet dress, from the label's A/W '10 collection, suddenly velvet is hot to trot again. Continuing on with our 100 Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas special, here is another ten dresses, all under £100, this time of the soft and luxurious variety.

Above L-R: 1. Isabelle Lurex Lace Velvet Skirt Dress, £20. 2. Fearne Cotton Velvet Drape Maxi Dress, £79. 3. Oasis One Shoulder Velvet Dress, £75. 4. TFNC Esther Dress, £30.

 

Above L-R: 5. Miss Selfridge Petites Berry Velvet Dress, £32. 6. Topshop Petite Velvet Bandeau Dress, £35. 6. Dorothy Perkins Mink velvet cornelli dress, £38.

 

Above L-R: 8. Love Label velvet bustier dress, £49. 9. Velvet Asymmetric Dress by Love, £32. 10. Warehouse velvet shift dress, £60.

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas - 98, 99 & 100! Your final three!

It's time for all of us to breathe a big sigh of relief, as this post marks the end of the rundown of 100 cheap party dresses for Christmas. If you've still not a) had your party or b) bought the perfect frock, there are 30 posts and 100 dresses for you to choose from in our archive. The final three come from the sales on the high street, meaning you should be able to nab them instore today if you've got a last minute festive bash to attend (or if you just fancy glamming it up on the big day). First up is Warehouse's one-shoulder sequinned number for £35 (down from £90). Then we have Oasis's origami detail tucked bandeau dress down from £80 to £30. Finally, from Julien Macdonald's Star range at Debenhams is a black frilled prom dress down from £80 to £56.

I hope you've enjoyed the rundown, I definitely loved doing it though I think I've now looked at every party dress in existence!

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas: Teal for two

Still not got that perfect Christmas dress? You're cutting it fine as far as pre-Christmas postage goes, but there is still time. As an antidote to all the black, red and blue we've been seeing recently, here are two teal numbers that'll have you looking gorge for less than fifty quid. First, Reko's pleated bib front dress for £45 at Topshop, which you could layer up over a long sleeved top and tights for a bit of warmth. If you're willing to get your shoulders out, the 'Lizzie' strapless dress with a corsage is £20 at Boohoo. Bargain!

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas : Back to Black (strapless prom dresses)

Earlier in the Cheap Party dresses rundown, I featured a whole gallery of strapless black numbers. But you can never have too many LBDs in my opinion, so here are two more that definitely make the grade (especially now their prices have been slashed in the sale). They're both from New Look, and start at £20 for the velvet spot dress (very Luella) with the frilly, ruffled prom dress coming in at £35, which is a great deal considering all the detail. Move fast as sizes are already limited. That's what happens with bargains like this!

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas: A bit of extra festive sparkle

How do you make the Harlequin trend even more over the top? How about doing it in sequins? The £39.14 dress on the right is definitely not one for the faint-hearted, but if you've got the legs to pull it off, Christmas is definitely the time. I'd top it with a tuxedo jacket and Miu Miu esque heels. Meanwhile, a little bit more traditional, if equally eyecatching, is the gold ombre sequin dress for £24.46, which would be great with black tights and killer Gucci-style studded sandals. Both dresses are from Quiz Clothing, a new online discovery for me.

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas - Copy Eva Mendes for less than £10!

Eva Mendes' yellow Bill Blass dress helped her outshine Scarlett Johansson at the premiere of 'The Spirit', but at well over £1000, the dress probably isn't in most people's festive budget. Luckily, ASOS.com have come up trumps with a very similar dress. It might be slightly lighter in colour with frills in different places, but considering it could be winging its way to you this weekend for less than £10, I think it's a fair trade-off. There's free shipping at ASOS this weekend, so get this dress now for £9.79. If the yellow is too much for you, it also comes in a slightly more easy to wear cornflower blue.

What to wear over those strapless party dresses

The response to yesterday's Helen Mirren story about dresses with sleeves got me thinking about the proliferation of strapless and strappy dresses at this time of year, and the ongoing problem of what to wear with them to keep off the chill. Assuming you wear a coat to go in, you'll then need something a bit thinner and more party-like to wear after you've removed it.

While some super-stylish people can make a loose, men's cardigan look amazing over a strapless prom dress, others will need something a bit more appropriate. Luckily there are plenty of shrugs, boleros, capes and cardigans around...

My advice is to stay away from sequinned shrugs, which still reek a little bit of Winter 2006, when Primark sold that gold shrug. Instead look for something a bit more 40s glam, with frills, chiffon or more unusual embellishment, like Dorothy Perkins' gathered chiffon shrug (top left, £20).

If you really want your dress to do the talking, a simple, fitted black shrug (above right, £10.76 from Quiz) will keep your arms and shoulders warm without drawing attention away. You have to be careful what you wear them with (no combats and vest tops - can we all say Steps video?) but they work really well with strapless dresses.

Tuxedo jackets are everywhere this season, but might be a bit too heavy to wear over a dress. Jasper Garvida for Oli Fusion has solved this problem with short-sleeved, bolero version (£39).
Finally, go all out with faux fur or feathers if you're off somewhere really glam. River Island's feather bolero would look brilliant over a bright coloured dress. It's yours for £48.92.

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas - Miss Selfridge's limited edition frock

If you've still not found your perfect party dress (come on, I've brought you SIXTY!) then feast your eyes on this baby.

It's from Miss Selfridge, and is a special limited edition item that'll only be available on the website from tomorrow (Dec 12th). Only 100 of the £50 dresses will be available, so that dramatically cuts down on potential 'oops, we wore the same outfit' embarrassment.

The colour is also a nice change from all the black, red and blue we're seeing at the moment. It'll look amazing with just about any skintone and hair colour, which is a minor miracle, and the shape is universally flattering (don't shy away from volume if you're curvaceous, you'll be surprised how well it can work).

Katie Grand hosts a LOVE party, before the mag even goes on sale

Oh, to be one of the chosen ones! Last night, LOVE editor Katie Grand held a Christmas tea party and treasure hunt for her nearest and dearest - a group that included Giles Deacon, Beth Ditto, Serena Rees, Jade Parfitt and Alexandra Shulman. Talk about a who's who of fashion. Perhaps the oddest thing, however, was seeing uber-cool BFFs Agyness and Henry Holland getting chummy with retro diva Kelly Brook.

[image: Richard Young/Rex Features]

Diane Kruger dons Clubmasters for Ray-Ban party

Ray-Ban Clubmasters have been snapping on the heels of their more popular Wayfarer cousins for a while now but they're neck and neck in the style stakes.Ray-Ban invited three bands including the Black Kids to re-jig their favourite songs which they played to a crowded party of celebs. Teaming her sunnies with high-waisted tuxedo trousers Diane Kruger looks pretty hot in hers unlike Gossip Girl's Ed Westwick...
Sipa Press/Rex Features

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas: No cash for a dress? No need to Boohoo (!)

These three dresses for £20 or less take us up to 60 in the 100 Cheap Party Dresses rundown. Yes, friends, the end is near (ish). To finish up today's bumper edition I have three dresses from Boohoo.com that'll suit even the tightest of budgets. Fifteen squids will get you the one-shouldered green 'Bella' dress, for £20 you can get the black shoulder-detail 'Alyssa' and at only £12 the strapless satin 'Carrie' will see you through the festive season in very thrifty style.
Click here to see all the dresses so far: 1 - 60

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas: Celebrity inspired frocks

We're over halfway through the cheap party dresses rundown (thank God!) and today I've done something a little special, with a gallery of celebrity-inspired frocks for around £20 - £60. If you fancy getting the look of Gwyneth Paltrow, Megan Fox, Victoria Beckham, Anna Faris, Eliza Dushku or Ashley Tisdale, look no futher than these cheap chic items. Click the image below to view the lot!

Gwyneth's Antonio Berardi dress was a love it or loathe it tabloid fave, but Topshop's alternative is a bit easier to wear. It's also only £30 in the sale.

Megan Fox is a huge fan of hot pink, and has worn variations of this look for the last couple of years. Copy her look and draw attention with River Island's tulip skirted number for £58.71.

Ashley Tisdale wore a crop of frilly, feminine, sparkly confections during the High School Musical promotional tour. This, from Rome, was one of the best, and can be copied on a budget with Miss Selfridge's £35 silver knot dress, some silver flat-back jewels and some super glue. I do love a craft project.

Anna Faris's starring role in The House Bunny meant she was another star doing the promotional rounds in the latter half of the year. Copy her bodycon red dress with another bodycon red dress from Dorothy Perkins for only £20.

If you're heading to a party straight from the office and you really can't change, take a note out of Eliza Dusku's book and try a pencil skirt and blouse...or one of the all-in-one dresses, like Peacocks' high-waisted offering for £20

With the launch of her dress line, Posh has been working the super-fitted, pencil skirted look for loooong time. Copy the frock she wore at the Marc Jacobs fashion show with this Goddiva frock for £55.85.

[CatwalkQueen]

Fashion Frisk: NBC All-Stars Party in Beverly Hills

On July 18th, 2007, NBC held its All-Stars Party at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. Sartorial standouts included actresses Linda Cardellini, Sarah Shahi, and Minka Kelly.


NBC held its All-Stars Party at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, July 18th, 2007. The room was packed with A and B-list talent, including Molly Sims, Carson Daly, David Hasselhoff, John Stamos, and Kyle Chandler. Stars opted for color over the standard black fare, making for a more brilliant night than usual. Sartorial standouts included actresses Linda Cardellini, Sarah Shahi, and Minka Kelly.

Fashion Casualty
Linda Linda Linda. What does one say about you? We know you’ve got talent, coming off of films American Gun, Nana’s Boy and Brokeback Mountain. It must have been hard on ER when Luka Kovac left your character and married Abby. Or in Legally Blonde when you got convicted of accidentally shooting your father. Perhaps it was these issues with men that led you down the thorny path and made you wear this, the mother of all stupid outfits. On top of which, going dark brunette just makes you look sad, like you’re trying to drown yourself in Clairol’s idea of sienna to escape your failed relationships on-camera. Back to the dress, the dusky blue babydoll is so in right now, but somehow it completes the sadness started by your change in hair and doesn’t suit you much. Throw in some flowery footwear and you’ve got one regressed woman, trying to go back in time and recapture what might have been with the men in her life. The only thing we can say is getting over the past makes you closer to Mr. Right. So does wearing flattering clothing, the cardinal rule of Style 101.

Lovely Sarah Shahi kills us with her megawatt smile, killer rack and not a bad pair of gams either. Throw in the fact that she’s descended from an Iranian Shah, a member of the National Honor Society and a former NFL cheerleader and you’ve got one hot royal! We haven’t seen anything this good since, Prince William. Shahi’s biggest role to date has been the gay disc jockey Carmen de la Pica Morales in The L Word. Roles like that aren’t very glam, but when you look like her, who cares?

Sex on Ice
Shahi smolders in a low-cut lime green number that shows off most of her assets but leaves just enough to feign modesty. Paired with white bow-tie slides and a bright red pedicure kind of ruins it for us, only because a dress this hot deserves some seriously sizzling shoes, not girl-next-door sweetness. We get excited (and just can’t hide it) when it comes to La Sarah because we know she’s going places and this is just the beginning. Hopefully she’ll head for Rodeo and go for some true foot fashion.

You Look Like a Lady
Miss Minka reminds us of another young actress who sprang from the Aerosmith seed, Ms. Liv Tyler. Like Tyler, Minka Kelly also has a famous rock star dad. And she’s also a beautiful brunette with taste in threads. Hence, the off-shouldered blue satin dress, if you can call that little fabric a dress, and stripy silver sandals. One look at you in this and the paps will go truly mad. If only because you’ve got the best stems in the entire Beverly Hilton. And after that, you can always leave early and stop at the frat house. The guys are always happy to have an extra Greek or two. Our only peeve is that your bottom half is way darker than the top, which detracts from the outfit just a wee bit.

Beyonce at Kelly Rowland's Launch Party in New York

Wj could be better than Destiny’s Child, the most successful female band in history? Why a Destiny’s Child reunion, of course! While it didn’t include all the members, former lead singer Beyonce hooked up with Kelly Rowland to support her new album Ms. Kelly. Knowles looked smashing!

Kelly Rowland’s latest album, Ms. Kelly made its debut at number two on the Billboard Top R& B charts. While it’s still got a way to go in the US, considering how hot Rowland was in Destiny’s, she’s got no worries. Kels wore a white babydoll dress with appliqués around the low neckline and straps along with a pair of strappy heels which certainly fit the occasion- joyous and festive!

Making a Statement

And Beyonce gave her former bandmate some free publicity, wearing a low-necked white tee with “Ms. Kelly” printed on the front and teamed with a black pair of pants and matching peep-toe heels. Smoky eyes and pale lips complemented this casual yet dressy getup for one of her closest friends. We loved this look for so many reasons. Firstly, it’s a refreshing change from the big hair, tight-ass gowns and down-to-there necklines she loves to grace the red carpets with.

Secondly, the makeup didn’t compete with her outfit and flattered without flaunting. Andthirdly, the outrageously hot Beyonce made it Kelly’s day literally, by dressing under the wire and choosing to plug the girl’s album for the press. Not many songbirds would do that. But then again, not many are Beyonce Knowles.

Also at the party, held July 10th at club Homes in NYC were Mathew and Tina Knowles, singer Michelle Williams, Heatherette designer Richie Rich, vocalist Trey Lorenz, and model Dani Evans.

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