You wore red shoes to the last dance. There are four pairs of plain black shoes sitting in your closet. Patterned shoes are just too loud for your style. And you'll avoid white shoes at any cost to avoid scuffs and an inevitable fashion faux pas.

On your hunt for the perfect shoes, look to your jewelry box. Silver and silver-colored pieces are not only in, they are attractive, elegant additions to any outfit. You can don a silver necklace or bangle with just about any outfit to look polished and put together.

When putting together an outfit, the typical thought it to match everything to the clothing. Your purse and shoes should match each other, but both should match the dress. Jewelry is barely considered, but should at least complement whatever you're wearing. You stick to neutrals and let your dress really stand out.

This year, approach your planning a bit differently. Instead of matching everything to your dress, pick a palette of accessories that will match any dress. The perfect color for this is natural metallic silver.

The beauty of silver shoes is that they match every color or style of dress, come in a variety of shades and shines, and can be worn again and again. Plain silver shoes can be spiced up with glitter, bows or other embellishments to add more appeal, or kept as is for a tasteful, long term addition to your wardrobe.

Silver is the ultimate neutral. No matter what color dress you choose, the shoes will match. Since you already have the silver element, you can begin mixing and matching silver or silver-colored jewelry to match the shoes. You can use your hair accessories or jewelry to add an extra burst of color.

If silver isn't your color, you can apply this style, with some dress color limitations, to gold or bronze shoes. Any bold metallic color can be integrated into your outfit as the central matching piece. With colors other than silver, though, be sure to match them with your dress before you make a purchase. Also, ensure that gold is a good color for your skin tone. While it shimmers on some complexions, it washes others out.

For a more dramatic look, play up the glitz of your outfit with sparkly shoes. The more authentic the metallic color, the more your matching accessories will stand out. Be careful not to overdo the sparkle, though, as extremely metallic shoes can be distracting, and sometimes tacky.

Inspiration for shoe styles can be found everywhere. Take a look at what celebs were wearing at the last Hollywood get together, or visit runway trend websites. You may get lucky and see someone wearing a dress just like yours with metallic shoes, and know what will work just right.