The holiday season is fast approaching and stores are beginning to put out holiday shopping displays, gifts ideas and catalogs. As the holiday season approaches, party invitations begin to arrive in the mail, email or via social networking. One of the challenging parts of the holiday season is finding formal or party attire that is festive, easy to wear and not too cool as the temperatures drop. Thankfully, the upcoming resort season includes shimmer, sequins and everything that sparkles, allowing Fashionistas to find holiday attire that can also be worn during the resort and spring seasons; as well as the wraps that can keep us warm.

Adding shimmer to a holiday outfit is part of the fun in keeping the holiday season full of sparkle and a festive outlook. Formal dresses can always have shimmer or sparkle and are an easy way to shine at a formal event or cocktail party. Another bright and cheery way to add sparkle to a holiday outfit is by pairing a sequin top with dark jeans for a girl’s night out, velvet trousers for a semi-formal evening, grey wool trousers for daytime shimmer or even a leather skirt, black leather winter shorts, wool shorts; ahhh, the possibilities are endless. Sequin tops that are a solid color are the easiest to create outfits with and also have better lasting power year after year. 

Another easy way to add shimmer to a holiday outfit is through accessories. Metallic shoes and handbags are a great way to add shimmer to an outfit for day or night. A metallic or sequin wrap is also a great way to spice up a little black dress, or other solid colored frock for formal events, cocktail parties and semi-formal occasions.  Stella McCartney has a great shimmer top which can easily be worn during the day with white pants in spring or for evening occasions with black leather short or velvet trousers for the holidays. O

f course, leave it to Jimmy Choo to create amazing shimmer shoes that be worn all year long; click here to see! Donna Karen has a fabulous black, body conscious sweater for the holiday season which can still be worn alone on cool, early spring evenings. This sweater is great for daytime or evening, plus it is easy to layer for additional warmth. Fabulous!  Jewelry is another way to add sparkle to an outfit whether or not the garments have shine, does not matter! This bracelet by Fragments for Neiman Marcus a-ma-zing! Cookie Lee has a ton of sparkle for the holiday season at fabulous prices. Click here for Cookie Lee shopping info. Sparkle and shimmer is part of the fun for the holiday season; and thankfully it is also part of the resort trends!

There was also sparkle and shimmer on the runways for spring 2011, so this is a great time to invest in at least one garment with some shimmer. Look for basic colors such as silver and black. When choosing colors, look for softer colors that can carry into spring such as muted plum, pastels and light tans. Sequins and shimmer always swings into fashion for the holiday season, so anything with a bit of flash is perfect for holiday investment dressing. Thankfully, shimmer is also part of the resort and spring trends, making sequins and everything that sparkles the perfect investment for now and into 2011. Happy shopping and stay fabulous.

Photos: Cathy/Bay Area Fashionista 2010©