The NYE breakdown: neck-eating ruffles 'n' all

For reasons related to a New Year's resolution, I hadn't planned on giving a piece-by-piece rundown of my NYE ensemble -and thus, no, I don't have a full-length photo- but since several of you have asked for one and since I did feel pretty darn stylish that night, I felt I owed it to both my readership and to the lovely five-person team on Third Ave. that championed this look even when the gray tights and the black platforms were still very much pie-in-the-sky hypotheticals, to postpone my less-me-more-fashion resolution by one more day.

At last count, I'd unconsciously and consciously broken two of the three life changes to which I'd committed myself yesterday morning; here's hoping I can go the distance with my intent to drink more water and less sugar-free Red Bull.

Enjoy, and please feel free to share what pretty lil' thing(s) you wore to ring in the new year!

My Dress
Ruffled organza dress by Robert Rodriguez
($363 in-store at Bloomingdale's or online at saks.com)*

For those of you who have actually seen this dress -especially the other reader who also wore my baby RobRod Monday night- please join me in convincing the others that its color is much more a muted Dijon gold than the French's squeeze-bottle yellow you see here.
My Tights
High-waisted Tight-End opaque tights in 'Smoke' by Spanx
($38 at spanx.com)

Chartreuse/gunmetal is fast-becoming one of my new favorite color combinations. It looks like I learned to appreciate yet another aesthetic dreamed up by 'Project Runway's' most talented shoulda-won contestant...
My Shoes
Black patent almond-toed pumps with exposed platform by Marni
(unavailable online, a souvenir from 10022-SHOE)With the added lift, their overall height falls somewhere around five and a half inches -- a full 3/4 of an inch higher than the pump in my collection that previously held the "tallest" title. By the end of the second day of navigating busy city streets in my new lady-stilts, I managed to reduce falls, near falls and general tippiness by more than 50%, statistics that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what I've always said about daunting heels: "never quit, for practice will eventually make perfect."
My Makeup:
Cover Girl Marathon mascara in 'Noir'
Maybelline Unstoppable eyeliner in 'Onyx'
Maybelline Expertwear shadow in 'Night Sky'
Estee Lauder 'Sun Goddess' bronzer
Revlon ColorStay matte lip color in 'Divine Port Wine'
M.A.C. Lip Glass by Alexander McQueen in 'Nothingless'

*OR $363 less 25% (a friend with an aunt who works in-store is a blessing), less another 15% for officially becoming a Bloomie's cardholder