Holiday parties are becoming more and more casual, which I find a great shame, but what can you do. We live in the age of casualization. These days a pair of fab jeans matched with heels and a sparkly top is as holiday-ready as a little black dress with all the trimmings. 

How about an in-between holiday look that’s not as casual as dressed up blue jeans, but not as formal as a LBD? A couple of years ago Kendall Farr wrote about the little black pant as a holiday party option. This year I bring you the Little Shiny Pant, or LSP — an on-trend outfit formula for our trouser season. 

The photos below provide great inspiration for the look. Here are the components:

Little Shiny Pant: You’re after anything with shine. Sequins, brocade, lace, lurex-rich fabrications, satin and metallic coated jeans are ideal options. Silhouettes can be cropped or full length. Slouchy, baggy, tailored or body con. 

Simple Top: I like the ensemble best with simple tops because they make the pants really shine. Think roomy or tailored fine gauge knitwear and soft drapey blouses over tight skinnies. Boxy blouses with high-low hemlines will also look fab. Tailored tops tucked into baggy and slouchy little shiny pants are another way to go. Or even a layering t-shirt worn under a tuxedo jacket or black moto jacket. For a maximal effect add a brocade jacket (see the model below with the green blazer). 

Heels: To my eye, dressy heeled pumps or heeled stacked sandals are the best way to finish off the look. That way you’ve created just enough formality. Shooties and booties are not my first choice because they dress down the vibe no matter what. That said, patent shooties are a nice option. 

Clutch: Hands down the best handbag to carry for this formula. Large or small. With or without a dainty strap. 

As with all the formulas, I sow the seed of an idea. The next step is to substitute the items so that they are in line with your own style persona. I’ve chosen a predominantly neutral colour palette because I’m taken with this look in metallic and black. But choose any colour spectrum. Keep it tonal or high contrasting. Add arm candy or a necklace. Add a belt. Or throw in your significant other for a serious bit of arm candy. 

I am feeling this vibe the most for my holiday look this year because I am trouser crazy. I wanted to wear sequin pants last year, but a minimalist midi dress won me over. It’s trousers this year.

Your worst colours are the ones that do nothing to brighten your complexion, bring out the colour of your eyes or capture the hues that run through your hair. Unflattering colours can make you look a little dull or grey, sometimes overly yellow or overly pink, wash you out, and even make you look sickly. 

My worst colours are beige, stone, flat light grey, most shades of camel, most shades of olive, and taupe. I look awful in what I call “dirty colours”, which are muted shades that have been mixed with grey to dull the effect of the pure hue, like mauve and sage green. I also don’t look good in eggplant, oxblood, maroon and burgundy. 

That said, I can wear light grey or beige when it’s shiny and has an iridescent quality, in which case it’s more of a silver or gold. I can also wear a very dark olive, and some pastels like crisp light blue, peach or baby pink.

When I shop with clients, it still amazes me how a particular colour can look sensational on them and desperately drab on me. Just last week I was with a client who wears oxblood, camel and light olive with the best of them. Yet those colours are disastrous against my skin tone. 

Which are your worst colours?

There is no stopping the cropped pants trend for Autumn and Winter, and it’s even bigger for Spring 2013. If you prefer regular length trousers like I do, this is not the best fashion news. I can’t tell you how many pairs of trousers I’ve absolutely adored, but rejected because I wanted full leg coverage. 

But there is a full coverage solution for cropped pants: wear taller booties. I’m already putting this trick into practice with boyfriend jeans that barely cover my ankle bone. But those boyfriend jeans aren’t all that cropped to start off with, so I didn’t need a tall bootie. 

The photos below illustrate the concept well. The first picture shows cropped pants with a pair of high heeled pumps. Lots of ankle skin exposure.

Here are the same pair of cropped pants with a pair of taller booties. Instant coverage. Keeping the booties a low contrasting colour, like matching black booties with charcoal  pants, lengthens the leg line. 

There will be leg exposure when you walk or sit because the pants will creep up. The way to remedy that is with a pair of dark socks, or to wear a mid calf length boot. That way you’ll cover even more of the pants, thereby tucking a part of them into the boots.

Below is another example of a pair of cropped pants that have been lengthened with a pair of taller booties. The contrast between the brown trousers and black booties is low, once again, to create a longer leg line.

Perhaps you’ve got a pair of cropped pants that you didn’t think you could wear in colder weather. Well, with a pair of taller booties you can.

Audrey dressed from head to toe in beatnik black, except for the white socks… This is how millions of people picture the actress when they hear her name. She donned the now legendary black polo neck, 7/8 cigarette pants and Ferragamo suede penny loafers for the energetic dance sequence in the 1957 feel-good musical Funny Face. The movie tells the story of bookstore assistant Jo Stockton (Audrey Hepburn) who finds her store overrun for a fashion magazine photoshoot. Photographer Dick Avery (Fred Astaire) is intrigued by Jo’s unique appearance. He convinces her to come to Paris, where she’s turned into a much sought-after supermodel and, of course, falls in love. Funny Face wasn’t a blockbuster success when it was first released, but has become a classic, just like Audrey’s stovepipe trousers ensemble

This is undoubtedly one of the most iconic Audrey outfits of all time, and the perfect choice for the wonderful Parisian nightclub scene. The minimalist clothes emphasized her gamine features, dancer’s physique and lithe, supple movements. The entire movie is a visual feast, chock-full of magnificent outfits created by renowned Hollywood designer Edith Head and French couturier Hubert de Givenchy. They received well-deserved Oscar nominations for their brilliant costume designs. But I have to say that, as much as I adore the long red strapless evening gown or the super chic coat and midi dress outfit at the train station (complete with gorgeous hat and adorable Yorkie), I too fell hard for Audrey’s black dance ensemble. And in all its elegant simplicity it continues to be one of my favourite movie outfits of all time.

If you have seen the movie, what is your top fashion pick? And which other film costumes would you say have become as iconic as Audrey’s?

Now in YLF Book Club

We are chatting about Dana Thomas’ Deluxe – How Luxury Lost Its Luster, a behind-the-scenes look at how the luxury fashion industry has changed drastically over the years. Join us in today’s kick-off thread to add your two cents.

Quick Reminder: On the Book Club page you can find the schedule of previous, current and future Book Club titles.