Stictly stylish, darling.

There may be mixed views about the dancing abilities of Ann Widdecombe and Gavin Henson, there may be heated debates about attitude of some judges, but there is one matter about which all viewers of this season's Strictly Come Dancing can agree – that the costumes are A-May-Zing, as Craig might say, better than ever, and probably, in fact, the real stars of the show. Movement is the key to fashion Strictly style.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Dec 2010, 12:46 BST
Updated 1st Dec 2010, 12:49 BST

For the female dancers, the dresses have to their flow or show off the body as they undulate and sway.

For this reason, they tend to follow one of three basic shapes: Long and floaty, short and sassy, and those barely-there dresses that appear to consist of little more than a few strips of Lycra (and sometimes rather more pole dancer than ballroom). But generally, these are wonderful, dramatic and romantic looks, offering much inspiration for Christmas party wear. For our shoot, modelled here by dancers from the Northern Ballet, we found lots of gorgeous Strictly-style dresses on the High Street, long and short, with oodles of embellishment, feathers, fringing, sequins and pearls. Don't forget to accessorise with feather and sequin hair slides.

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For the men, the choice is also wide this season, from sharp suiting and dress shirts through to more relaxed cropped trousers and wide neck T-shirts. Here again, accessories make the look, so add silk scarves, cummerbunds and wrist cuffs.

The popularity of the show has brought about a boost in the number of those taking to the dance floor themselves, joining ballroom classes for fitness and fun, and this has been good news for specialist dance outfitters.

"There has definitely been a huge surge, especially with the men," says Lisa Procter, owner of World of Dance in Leeds. "The wives have been getting the men into it." It's essential to wear the right shoes, though. "Proper dance shoes are very light, far more so than normal shoes," Lisa says. "And the suede soles allow you to glide across the floor. Plus they are very flexible and very secure on the foot." Hair is another Strictly highlight, and can again provide useful pointers to Christmas party looks. Hair stylist Rebecca Charles created the looks seen here, sharp and sleek for the boys, and tumbling, structured, glossy curls for the girls, sometimes swept to one side with grips, which works especially well if you are using a feather hair accessory. Altogether, Fab-U-Lous, darling.

STYLING: Stephanie Smith, assisted by Catherine Mullaney and Jasmine Headley.

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MODELS: Northern Ballet Dancers Georgina May, Michela Paolacci, Yi Song and Thomas Aragones. The Nutcracker is at Leeds Grand Theatre, until

Saturday, December 12, box office 0844 848 2701.

HAIR: Rebecca Armitage at Rebecca Charles, Duncan Street, Leeds, 0113 234 6120.

MAKE-UP: Abid from Urban Decay at Debenhams White Rose on 0113 205 5045.

LOCATION: The new Northern Ballet headquarters at Quarry Lane in Leeds.

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All clothes are from the White Rose Shopping Centre in Leeds (www.white-rose.co.uk). Now open 9am-10pm Monday to Friday, 9am-8pm Saturday and 11am -5pm on Sundays.

Dance shoes all from World of Dance, County Arcade, Victoria Quarter, Leeds, 0113 246 1100, www.worldofdance.org.uk.

Related topics:Leeds