The New Year has arrived and all the holiday parties are over. You ate and drank too much, and maybe you put on a few pounds. Luckily for most of us, the weather is cold and layering is a must. What is the key piece you need for cold weather? Something you can layer with any look? The Jacket.

America Ferrera's bright yellow jacket makes a basic black dress pop, and goes perfectly with her sunny smile.


A great jacket can be the most useful and slimming piece you own, whether it's a sports jacket, a motorcycle jacket, a "ladies who lunch" jacket or a glam tuxedo style, like the one on Jennifer Hudson, here.



It's important to make sure the jacket fits, and even more important to make sure it shows off your waist. Most the women I know who carry weight in their middle tend to want to cover it up with boxy jackets and loose fitting clothes -- big mistake. This only adds weight to your frame.

Use the jacket to emphasize your shoulders and define your waist, giving you an hourglass shape. (Like Queen Latifah, below).



As you will see in my book, "Science of Sexy," balance is what's sexy, which means you want defined shoulders, waist and hips -- the Hourglass shape.

When you're looking for a jacket, make sure the waist is defined and you have a strong shoulder (not overly padded, but not droopy either). This can also be achieved with a belted jacket to cinch the waist. This will give you the appearance of an hourglass and still hide any extra pounds the holidays may have left on you.