By: Sharon Mosley

If there is one night of the year to rock your fashion world, it’s New Year’s Eve. Let the champagne flow and your sequins glow: It’s time to party and celebrate. Bring out the bling and ring in a new you and a new year. Set your inner fashion diva free.

Here are 10 ways to rock the fashion party scene and dress to excess:

1. Sparkle. Yes, you can get away with wearing more and more on New Year’s Eve. That beaded top, the shimmering dress, the embellished sweater. Even if you are wearing your one and only tried and true little black dress, you can still pile on the jewels.

2. And Then Accessorize. Don’t forget you can always add some bling via accessories. Think shoes decked out with sparkling baubles, clutches glimmering in shining snakeskin, chandelier earrings dripping with crystals, and furry collars and cuffs. Even a feather boa can add a fun, festive touch to any outfit.

3. Dress It Up. Turn up the glam factor on your holiday dress. Yes, you can show some skin! Just make sure you are highlighting your best features. Got great shoulders? Go for a dress with a unique asymmetrical top or off-the-shoulder look. A great waist? Wrap yourself in a belt that sparkles. Longer dresses that hit just below the knee are fashion’s first choice this season, but if you’ve got great legs, you can go shorter. Just not too short … you might want to sit one dance out.

4. Vamp It Up With Velvet. Shimmer and shine is always a best-dressed bet on New Year’s, but you can also amp up your vamp style with special fabrics — velvety long jackets, leather vests, satin harem pants or a silk tuxedo shirt. Even jeans can be dressed up with a metallic sequined tank top. Just remember: Drama is queen of the night.

5. Wear Color. Black may always be your go-to dress-up “color,” but on New Year’s Eve, it’s time to be bold. Even dark colors like burgundy, navy and emerald green can be sophisticated choices for those tired of the same old black attack that shows up at most holiday parties. And to really get ahead of the trendy crowd this year, wear the new color of 2014: “Radiant Orchid” — a bright pinkish purple. It’s also a great complement to black pants or skirts.

6. Make a Shoe Statement. You may have worn your flat velvet loafers to that holiday office party, but on New Year’s, it’s time to take it up a notch. It’s the perfect time to slip into those sky-high stilettos. You can always soak your feet the next day while sipping mimosas and making New Year’s resolutions!

7. Max Out the Makeup. Bright eye shadows are all the rage this winter, but you don’t have to do much to have a great outlook on the New Year. Just dab on a little of one of the new electric colors — chartreuse, violet, cobalt blue or even a bronze metallic — on your upper lids and blink away the night.

8. After You Go Through All the Trouble to Dress Up for New Year’s Eve, Don’t Forget Your Hair. Updos are always more festive. And if you have long hair, the romantic “Renaissance” milkmaid look laced with braids and jeweled headbands are hot this holiday season. If your hair is short and you have one of the new pixie dos, then you can still get a festive look with tousled piecey scrunching. No do should look too “done.”

9. Punch Up Your Pout. Matte orange lips may be another big trend you’ll want to skip unless you’re 18 or younger, but remember red is always a classic lip color. And New Year’s is the perfect time to wear a bolder red lipstick.

10. Nail It. OK, time to book the manicures now. This is definitely one thing you can do to add some major drama to your holiday outfits. While you can definitely paint the town in glittery gold nails or lovely lavenders, check out your manicurist’s latest take on nail art. How about a few leopard spots on those fingertips? They’d be sure to inspire a roaring good time.

Happy New Year!

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