Katherine Jenkins opens Harrods sale amid boos from anti-fur campaigners

Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins opened the Harrods annual January sale yesterday to boos and chants of "Shame on Katherine" from anti-fur campaigners outside the store. The 28-year-old vegetarian, wearing a strapless black and white lace dress, took on the duty a year after Leona Lewis turned down the same role (and £1 million paycheck) - apparently due to Harrods' policy of selling fur.

She was presented with a pair of diamond-encrusted Christian Louboutins by Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed for her troubles (lucky girl!) and said of the protests happening outside: "Personally I do not eat meat or wear fur, but people are entitled to their opinions. I was very excited to join the sales - I am a girl's girl, so obviously this is my idea of fun." What do you think of her decision?

[source / Image: Ray Tang/Rex Features]

Additions Direct are still shipping in time for Christmas

Hard as it is to believe when Christmas seems so close, there are still a few online stores out there willing to get their wares to you before Christmas if you use express delivery. Additions Direct is one of them, and they caught my eye with this strapless, draped dress, which pays obvious homage to the draped Alexander McQueen dress worn by dozens of celebs last year. This one is a bit shorter, a bit slinkier and (dare I say it) a bit sluttier, but it's yours for £10.50 and will arrive before Christmas if you shop before 4pm today.

Matthew Williamson for less at Yoox.com

All this online window shopping so close to Christmas is not good. It's too late to rewrite my wishlist now, so why am I suddenly discovering amazing things?

Not only do Yoox.com have a really good stock of cut-price Matthew Williamson, they have it in my size. There are loads of pieces on offer, most in larger sizes (when I say 'larger' I mean 12 - 16). Of course, it's all still £300+, but this is the only time of year most of us can dream of that kind of indulgence.

So Santa, if you're listening, this rather lovely one shoulder dress would be fab!

Cheap Party Dresses for Christmas : Back to Black (strapless prom dresses)

Earlier in the Cheap Party dresses rundown, I featured a whole gallery of strapless black numbers. But you can never have too many LBDs in my opinion, so here are two more that definitely make the grade (especially now their prices have been slashed in the sale). They're both from New Look, and start at £20 for the velvet spot dress (very Luella) with the frilly, ruffled prom dress coming in at £35, which is a great deal considering all the detail. Move fast as sizes are already limited. That's what happens with bargains like this!

What to wear over those strapless party dresses

The response to yesterday's Helen Mirren story about dresses with sleeves got me thinking about the proliferation of strapless and strappy dresses at this time of year, and the ongoing problem of what to wear with them to keep off the chill. Assuming you wear a coat to go in, you'll then need something a bit thinner and more party-like to wear after you've removed it.

While some super-stylish people can make a loose, men's cardigan look amazing over a strapless prom dress, others will need something a bit more appropriate. Luckily there are plenty of shrugs, boleros, capes and cardigans around...

My advice is to stay away from sequinned shrugs, which still reek a little bit of Winter 2006, when Primark sold that gold shrug. Instead look for something a bit more 40s glam, with frills, chiffon or more unusual embellishment, like Dorothy Perkins' gathered chiffon shrug (top left, £20).

If you really want your dress to do the talking, a simple, fitted black shrug (above right, £10.76 from Quiz) will keep your arms and shoulders warm without drawing attention away. You have to be careful what you wear them with (no combats and vest tops - can we all say Steps video?) but they work really well with strapless dresses.

Tuxedo jackets are everywhere this season, but might be a bit too heavy to wear over a dress. Jasper Garvida for Oli Fusion has solved this problem with short-sleeved, bolero version (£39).
Finally, go all out with faux fur or feathers if you're off somewhere really glam. River Island's feather bolero would look brilliant over a bright coloured dress. It's yours for £48.92.