[ot-caption title=”The holidays are a wonderful time to dress up and enhance your wardrobe with festivity. (via Annika Polatsek/sophomore)”]

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]With the holiday season well underway, it is only natural that there will be an abundance of holiday parties, a time for friends and family to come together to celebrate the festivities of the season.  Many find the prospect of these parties somewhat daunting because of the oh-so dreaded dressing up.  Others, however, find dressing up to be part of what makes the holidays such a wonderful time of the year.  Either way, one is still faced with finding the perfect outfit for the occasion, whether it be dressy or casual.  Wandering the stores at the mall or scrolling through pages of options online can often lead one back to where they’ve started, with no outfit at all.  Therefore, to ease the sometimes stressful aspect of the holidays, here are three outfit ideas that are stylish, sophisticated, and full of holiday spirit.

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]The first ensemble is casual, for those more laid-back gatherings.  Layering high-wasted jeans with a cropped, oversized turtleneck is comfortable while remaining polished.  To up the cool factor of the outfit, pair the clothing with these pointed, backless loafers, the perfect elevated basic that you can wear all year round.  To really give the outfit a holiday flavor, finish it off with this crimson cross-body with gold bee hardware.[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Topshop PETITE Mom Jeans- topshop.com, $75[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Zara Zipped Polo Neck Sweater (in grey)- zara.com, $49.90[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Zara Leather Slides With Bow- zara.com, $89.90[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Zara Metallic Detail Crossbody Bag- zara.com, $39.90[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″]

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]The next outfit is meant for a dressier holiday party, with its rosy, golden hues.  The crushed velvet dress is very on-trend, but because of its soft rose gold color, is a little more wearable than say a green or red crushed velvet dress, which can be a little overwhelming to the eye.  To bring out the subtle pink in the dress, pair it with a glittery pink clutch, with a gold logo.  Then, in order to bring out the gold in the outfit, add a pair of nude heels with gold detailing and a festively-patterned golden choker. [spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Crinkled Velvet Tunic- anthropologie.com, $128[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Kate Spade New York Glitter Bug Slim Bee Wristlet- amazon.com, $179[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Tory Burch Gigi Pump in Tory Beige (similar pump to those pictured)- toryburch.com, $275[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″]

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]Last but certainly not least is the outfit you can wear to a dressier event if you don’t like to wear dresses.  The slightly cropped, red velvet, long-sleeved shirt paired with high-wasted grey jeans is the perfect way to add a bit of holiday flair to the outfit.  To dress it up even more, trade in a pair of black culottes for the high-wasted grey jeans.  To pull the look together, add a pair of black boots with a silver heel and a black clutch with silver hardware. [spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Zara Velvet Crop Top, zara.com $25.90[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Topshop MOTO Grey Jamie Jeans, topshop.com $70[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Zara Culottes (not pictured), zara.com $39.90[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Zara Ankle Boots With Metal Heel, zara.com $79.90[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″] Rebecca Minkoff Leo Clutch (not pictured), rebeccaminkoff.com $95[spacer height=”5px” id=”3″]

[spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]To finish off any holiday look, opt for a classic, deep red or a dark berry shade.  If you’d like a more subtle look, apply lip balm and pat in the color with your fingertip.  The red shade works well with the first outfit (casual turtleneck) and third outfit (dressy velvet crop top). [spacer height=”10px” id=”2″]Sources: Zara, Topshop, Rebecca Minkoff, Tory Burch, Anthropologie, Amazon