We all know the one, tight bodice with a full skirt. It has been a bit of a party fail-safe for some time now. What counts is how it makes you feel: when you put on a dress with a voluminous skirt, it feels like a party. And that is what we want out of party dressing.

Thanks to online shopping, the party fallback-plan –I mean that trusty LBD – is over. High-end retailers inform that black doesn’t sell because of its flat look on the web. Pictures look best when everyone is wearing colour and print in a happy style explosion. Animal-print is the winter-friendly option for working a selfie. You can buy a bold animal print sweatshirt or dress.

The minimalist-friendly alternative is the Little White Dress. It is striking, bold and with no fear of blending into the background. A white dress is wintery – snowy, icy and majestically implying a well-heeled lifestyle.

It might be end of December but fashion doesn’t really have any time for thinking about seasons. It has got new body parts to get obsessed with. The hi-riff or the strip of flesh just below the bust has been in focus since the summer when crop tops rocked the catwalk. This is the area that the brave party dresser will continue to expose this season. To adapt this trend and make it wearable for properly wintery climes, an easier option would be a cropped fluffy knit and high-waist skirt.

Change from a dress into a classic classy tuxedo. Accessorise it with bold necklace and a statement clutch. While many of us are not willing to bomb our pockets for a dress, tailoring is definitely something we can all buy into. In a season of frills and pink that could border towards Barbie’s playhouse territory if you’re not careful, this is the smarter way to party dress.

When everything fails to give you that party feel, go for a headband. This could be anything from a headscarf to a Venetian-style mask. At any other time of year this behaviour would look a bit desperate but all bets are off for Christmas. The Santa hat or cat ears are classics of the genre but getting a bit passé. Jewelled headbands, will, however, score you top party points. To complete the look, add some very vampy lace and a wine-coloured lipstick.

Your coat is no longer the thing to sling on a hanger when you reach your destination; it’s now a statement in itself. This season, there are a few options to make sure that your pick in women’s winter coat passes muster. One is the aforesaid leopard print. You can also go for the puffa jacket. It looks sporty and a bit 90s – not to mention a lot warm.

This season, you can dress in anything you want if you’ve got long hair. You will look good, whether you wear more dressed-down or edgy pieces, with “done” movie-star hair. It is being loved as the latest take on mix’n’match style.