With the Christmas party season fast approaching you would not be alone if your mind is currently awash with dress dilemmas, shoe and handbag combinations and whether to wear a belt or a statement necklace, a Gossip Girl style headband or all of the above. Winter is the season where despite arctic conditions, people put on their finest frocks and fanciest suits and hit the town, soaking up the festivities and consuming far too many mince pies and bottles of mulled wine.

If you have a packed social calendar awaiting you, with office parties, Christmas dinners and cocktails with friends you will need a wardrobe that is up to the challenge. By updating your existing wardrobe with some key, on trend pieces you can create a whole world of new looks. Simply by swapping your trusty tan handbag for a leopard print clutch or your old faithful little black dress for a futuristic structured design you can embrace the 2009 styles as a classy fashionista and not a try hard fashion victim.

If it is outfits for the party season that you need then you can’t go wrong with a stylish and sexy dress, whatever the style a fantastic dress with great shoes will always look good. With all of the different styles, textures and colours of women’s dresses on the high street from luxurious velvet and party sequins, structured shoulders and bubble hems it is hard to know where to start, but there are ways in which to make your shopping experience as enjoyable and stress free as possible – though we can’t guarantee how stress free it will be for your bank manger;

Find the perfect shopping companion – It is important to go shopping with somebody that you really trust, somebody that will be honest with you and who knows what really suits you.

Shop around – It is important to take your time browsing the different styles and trends on the high street and selecting the garments that suit your shape and the colours that complement your skin tone. Don’t pick the first dress you see just because something similar looked fabulous on Kate Moss – unless of course you are Kate Moss.

Shape Up – Dress and shop to suit your figure, ensure that you know what shapes suit you and don’t fall victim to high fashion styles that will do you no favours simply because they are splashed the magazines. New Look carries a vast collection of women’s dresses to suit every body shape in a range of styles.

Know your colour – Before you go shopping spend time looking through your wardrobe and identifying the colours that suit you – this will make it easier when shopping to avoid the tones that although look great on your best friend, make you look like something out of Twilight.

Smart Dressing – Dress carefully, there is no point wearing jeans and trainers if you are shopping for a party dress. Always wear flat shoes when shopping – blisters don’t work with any outfit – and carry a pair of heels in your handbag to try on with dresses, skirts and long trousers.

Try On – Yes, it’s exhausting and frustrating and the queues can be long but it is a lot more annoying having to return all of your new items because they don’t fit, they are the wrong colour or they simply don’t look right.