Find something that fits you well

2. Find something that fits you well. Even more basic than freshman level courses at fashion schools, is the fact that the way a garment fits you is absolutely essential to how good or bad you will look. Many fashion rookies make the mistake of picking party clothes out based on how much they like a garment on a hanger. Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful a dress looks on a hanger or modeled on a mannequin, if it doesn't fit you or flatter your body type, it will not look good on you no matter how much you love the style. Garments that are too small will make a person appear bigger than they normally would, because the tightness of the garment will squeeze the skin together in an unflattering fashion. Likewise, garments that are too loose will not do your figure any favors. Any attractive curves or shapely assets will be completely concealed from view if your outfit is too loose.

3. Add some glitz and glamour lingeries. The winter holidays are known for being a magical and festive time to celebrate. Of course this means that when it comes to picking out your holidays party outfits, use Christmas as an excuse to spice up your regular cocktail party style with some extra sparkles. For example, maybe instead of your standard little black dress, you rock a tasteful sequined dress instead. Or, for a more subtle touch of sparkle, accessorize with dangling diamond (real or fake) earrings, or a necklace to add that extra flair of drama to your holiday party look.

And it seems our ideas are not about to change any time soon: these days increasing numbers of us turn to plastic surgery to achieve this ideal body-image. According to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery the quest for the hour-glass figure is still an international phenomenon: the Brazilians opt for buttock enhancements for bootyliciousness (think J-lo, Beyonce), while breast implants and tummy tucks are both in the top 5 procedures worldwide. Frustratingly, where our mothers and grandmothers seemed to naturally acquire a waistline, we are increasingly developing a more masculine body shape - the muffin-top is now our equivalent of the male beer-belly and it's one area we really don't need equality! In fact, in a recent comedy sketch comedienne Sarah Milican referred the 'muffin-top' as a 'cake-shelf' so who knows where it end!

So just what is going on? Well, the muffin-top is the consequence of thirty or so years of mistaken beliefs about the low-fat diet. It's almost unbelievable that avoiding dietary fat leads to us accumulating excess body fat - especially around our middles - yet that is exactly what nutritional science has now revealed.

The dangers of the low-fat solution are now absolutely evident. In 2012, The Harvard School of Public Health branded the low-fat diet more dangerous than saturated fat, linking it with excessive and hard to shift abdominal fat and the tell tale shape linked with serious illnesses including diabetes and heart disease.MORE:cheap sexy lingerie