THE PARTY STARTER

There was a time when New Year’s Eve parties were confined to discos, where you let you hair down and partied till the wee hours. Today, the options are umpteen and celebrity stylist Aastha Sharma gives you just the look you were aiming for different kinds of parties:

■ House party

It depends on where you are (on the weather) but it’s usually always cold. Always go for something comfortable and avoid high heels because you’ll definitely have a long night. Darker shades of prints are very in, this winter and so are metallics – (maybe a dress or pants and a crop top), so try to incorporate that. Always carry a jacket – like a boxy one – since layering always helps. The idea is to be simple and comfortable, while not going over the top.

■ Pool party

You can opt for nice prints. Fashion designer duo Shivan and Narresh have done some really nice pants, or maybe a metallic bomber jacket with pants, or a halter/wrap dress. Always wear your bikini inside because you never know when you’ll jump into the pool. You can play around with accessories a lot — maybe big hoops and a hat. You can play around with colours as well — especially the bold ones.

■ Office party Your options could include a classic black dress (but never a LBD), a solid coloured dress or even high-waisted pants and a top. You can layer it with a jacket and block heels to make it somewhere between formal and informal. You can also go for a long dress, maybe even fishnet. Never go for short dresses as it may be termed inappropriate; unless it’s out of office.

■ Club party

You can go as crazy as you want here. From metallics to bold dresses to short dresses to high-waisted shorts/pants, you can wear it all. A bralette paired with a power shoulder jacket would work really well and you can always take off the jacket later. A slit gown would look great, if you’re keeping everything else minimal. The key is to play around with your outfit and not that much with the accessories and makeup. Wear comfortable shoes since it would be a long night, so opt for block heels or wedges. You can also pair a short dress with thigh high boots since winter is the only occasion you can get them out. If you’re conscious of wearing a short dress, you can also team it up with stockings and heels — it looks really classy. With makeup — either do a bold red lip or emphasise on your eyes with a shiny look but not both.