Our styling editor shares her favourite looks for getting dressed up to the nines

• The best flat shoes for party season

It’s party season, a time of year that either fills you with sartorial dread or has you screaming with excitement as you get to wear yet another embellished dress to the pub on Friday night (‘tis the season after all).

I spend most of the year wearing navy trousers and oversized shirts, but there’s something about a party dress that speaks to my inner J-Lo. Give me applique flowers, cowl necks, asymmetric hemlines and lace edging, perhaps with an oversized blazer or knee-high boots. The options are endless and, in my opinion, during the silly season, the usual rules don’t apply. Here are the best party dress picks for December and beyond.

Mismatched or holey socks won’t cut it if your host asks you to leave your footwear at the door this party season

Forget heels, flats are back – with a glam new look. From velvet mary janes to sequined ballerinas, here are our top picks for a blister-free festive season

Mariah is on loop in the supermarket and your local cafe is doing gingerbread lattes. It’s officially the silly season. High street windows are filled with ideas for party dressing. There are sequin dresses and strokable velvet suiting, but look down and you’ll spot something a little more unusual. Gone are the customary towering heels. In their place? Sensible flats.

Now, if you are someone who genuinely loves wearing high heels, fine, no judgement, you keep doing you. But if you are someone who feels they should wear heels, rather than actually likes to, then good news – that way of thinking is very much over.

Want to look elegant despite the cold? All you need is lace, a cocktail coat and jewellery that glimmers in the candlelight