’tis the season for holiday parties!  which of course means it’s time to shop for a new party dress!  there are two main types of parties – a work party and a party with friends – and the kind of dress you wear to each can vary depending upon the crowd.

for work parties, a conservative, yet fun dress is what you need.  satin, embellishments, and a dress that doesn’t show too much skin are things to look for.  black is always the safest color – but you could make it stand out, like anne hathaway’s dress, with some embellishment around the collar.  or, for an evening event you can stand out in a silver dress with a conservative shape, like zooey deschanel’s dress.  to add some color to the usual LBD, you can go for purple, like eva mendes, and add an eye catching belt to bring the outfit together.

if you’re going to a party with friends, you might want to get a little more daring in a sexy party dress.  there’s always the classic red mini dress a la ashley olsen.  or you can mix the conservative with the sexy in a black lace number like marion cotillard.  finally, leave it to victoria beckham to bring the sexy out in a one shoulder, mini, gold dress.

what are you wearing to your holiday parties this season?

all pics from style.com