Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a great time ringing in the new year! My new year was definitely filled with memories, but I was surprised at how hard it was to find a decent dress to wear out! To be honest, I didn't have time to go into the city so that definitely hurt my chances, but I can't believe how few stores were even selling dresses. I guess that's what happens when you shop during boxing week. Do you think stores sell out of their holiday dresses that early in the year or do they really not stock dresses until spring? This is my second year in a row doing the last minute dress shopping thing so I really don't know. Last year I was able to get this amazing purple dress from Limite for an even more amazing price. One side of the whole store was just dresses on sale. I was looking forward to that again this year, but no such luck. I ended up buying this cute, but not so well fitted dress from Urban Behaviour - not my favourite store at all, so you can tell I was pretty desperate. Anyway, the whole fiasco inspired me to do an expose on some of my favourite party dresses!

I am really digging the tube sweetheart neckline right now. I think it's great because it works for both petite and curvy women, and it can be very flirty and girly or sophisticated. For instance, this gold strapless dress ($22.80) from forever21 is a cute way to do this style:

Or you can go more classy with this satin, pocketed style ($24.80). I really like this dress because you can take it from day to night with accessories. You pair this with a little blazer and pumps for work, then with a glittery stiletto, funky clutch, and killer jewelry for a night out. You can even do this with a pair of black gladiator sandals and a small cardigan for a lunch out. It's the quintessential "little black dress" if you will.

I thought I was over sequins, and for the most part, I am. You can also add ruffles to that list - although I have a few ruffle-y pieces that I love and will be wearing this spring. But then I ran into this hot black dress ($98.00) from Bebe! It's not so much that sequins are out, it's just not enough to be shiny in my opinion. If you're going to do the sequin thing, don't just literally buy a plain dress covered in sequins. Make a statement. Besides, whether sequins are "in or out" this dress is killer.

Speaking of ruffles, here is a more subtle way to wear this look. The cut gives the illusion of ruffles, but they are really just strips of fabric. This reminds me of those tassel Tina Turner type dresses, but with a modern spin. In fact, my new years dress was a knock off of this dress! *shh* It's a BCBG Max Azria ($200) laser cut dress that I got for $34 including tax! Although the dresses look identical, I must admit that hers looks like it fit better than mine did. However, had I had the time to get it tailored, I definitely would save my $200.

Last but not least, I just wanted to give a quick mention to Yaya & Co. This is a store you may have seen in Scarborough town centre recently. I believe I first saw it in Vaughn Mills, but I could be wrong. In any case, they have a really great dress selection. I was weary because it looked a little cheap and hoochie (for lack of a better word) at first, but they actually have some nice stuff. In fact, it ended up being out of my price range, but still definitely affordable.

Best wishes to all for the new year!