This year’s party clothes are about wearing ‘the piece’

A new skirt or shoes can give you more mileage for the buck, and check your closet for the rest.

Associated press

With more people likely to enjoy smaller-scale, at-home holiday gatherings this year instead of big blowouts at restaurants and fancy venues, multitasking separates seem better suited to the social whirl than do sexy cocktail frocks.

A recent spin around retailers’ “occasion” dress departments found more knits and less glitz, as well as several racks of dressy slacks and skirts.

Adam Glassman, creative director and fashion expert at O: The Oprah Magazine, says many women likely have the makings of a stylish outfit already in their closets.

But if you want to give yourself a gift, here are some pieces that could be the perfect finishing touch:

A skirt

Strut with a little swish. It could be a long cocktail skirt or a 1950s-style circle skirt, both of which offer graceful movement. They’ll look great with sequin tank tops or a subtle tonal-beaded sweater, recommends Glassman.

“Dresses are easy no-brainers, but skirts give more mileage and bang for the buck,” he says. “Even if it’s shiny or metallic, it can move from day to night. You have the ability to wear that skirt to work or a nice lunch with a girlfriend if you pare down the look.”

Statement jewelry

A necklace is the key piece. A bold necklace will turn a casual outfit into a chic one and a dressy outfit into something glamorous. A very sophisticated style is a ribbed black turtleneck with one of these chunky pieces.

It doesn’t matter if the jewelry isn’t expensive — you can find lovely options at every price point from Vera Wang to J. Crew to Kohl’s, reports Glassman — but don’t try to pass off costume jewelry as anything other than what it is. Instead embrace the jewelry as fun, trendy pieces and take some chances.

A cocktail ring can also garner the right kind of attention — especially since you might be holding a drink, putting your hands further on display — but it’s pretty much an either-or with the necklace or you risk overkill.

Jeweled flats

No need for black. A jewel-tone shoe, adorned with bows, sequins or beads is “something that makes you feel happy and alive,” Glassman says. “Even if you’re not buying a full outfit, buy that great shoe like Dorothy’s red ruby slipper — it will wake up your whole outfit.”

The added bonus is that when you’re at a home party, more people are likely to see your shoes as you cross your legs when you sit on a couch and they can be good conversation starters, he adds.

Shine

Light up your look. Something shiny around your face will brighten up your face and draw the eye upward. It could be a shiny fabric, beading or a top with a jewel-encrusted neckline, which takes care of the necklace too.

Glassman singles out an Oscar de la Renta turtleneck with a jeweled neck and cuffs that perfectly balances coziness with sophistication.

Lace

This isn’t your grandmother’s lace. “You hear lace and you might think ‘Little House on the Prairie,’ but we’re talking about the new lace,” Glassman says. That means lace worn in unexpected ways.

Wear a trace of lace: a lacy bra peeking through a blouse, lace shoes or a lace blouse worn with dressy trouser jeans. Glassman recommends black, brown, flesh-tone or even dove gray lace, which are both demure and sexy. “Colored lace can be scary in the wrong hands,” he warns.

An apron

Believe it or not. One would be surprised at the variety of sophisticated beaded Oscar de la Renta-esque aprons out there that can serve the dual purpose of jazzing up your outfit and saving it from a kitchen disaster.

“You’ll look very stylish, you’ll look fashionable — and you won’t look like Betty Crocker, but people might think you actually did the cooking,” Glassman adds. “And you don’t have to buy a new outfit, just put it over your own black dress or black pants.”