Holiday and Party Outfits – Shopping for the Real You

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Photo: Kraken Images on Unsplash

Photo: Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash

What we feel most comfortable and appropriate wearing for the holidays varies greatly depending on the level of formality of the event, the company, and the venue.

So when Suzanne Blons (“The Beauty Shaman”) asked me to do a seasonal update with some ideas about what to wear for a variety of holiday events, I had some fun! Here is the link to our video.

For that interview I sent her a few ideas for holiday outfits for casual, slightly more formal, and very formal settings. But I wanted to share some of the images here as well because they didn’t appear very long on the recordings.

I also had a few more that weren’t included in our chat. None of the items were linked to sales pages, so I added a few toward the end that are. But regardless, these images should give you a basic idea of how to put together something that is fairly simple, sophisticated, and versatile.

You’ll see a lot of black here and in the looks Suzanne shared in the interview. These work best for Striking Contrast (winter) coloring (Suzanne is an SC color type, mostly.) So just look at the silhouettes and pieces themselves, how they are put together to create an entire outfit, and consider what colors you might wear for different pieces.

Family and Casual Gatherings

This first one would work for a lot of family holiday dinners and includes a lot of trendy ideas: slouchy pants, loafers, blazers, wool and cashmere sweaters and satin blouses. The jewelry this year is really toned down, even for more formal events, I’ve noticed.

This next one adds a few more trendy elements, like the very high or over-the-knee boots, oversized sweaters, and midi pleated satin skirts. Again, the accessorizing is downplayed and classic.

And this one adds some edge with the full-length leather (likely faux leather, as it’s extremely popular this year) trench coat. But it’s fairly monotonal So the larger hoop earrings give it some oomph. A colorful blouse or sweater would really jazz it up and make it more cheerful.

Formal Gathering

Dinner out at a fancy restaurant or New Year’s soiree gives you the opportunity to add a little bling. That means sequined tops and brighter jewelry. I’ve been encouraging a lot of women to have some Classic basics in their wardrobe and this is why. All you have to do is add color and shine to them to create something elegant.

Also, you can jazz it up with embellished flats. Birdies (above) has some gorgeous ones this year. Or add a long rope of pearls, satin blouses or tanks (they’re showing them in many colors right now.) A velvet blazer in blue, red or green would also bring more life to the look.

Another option is a classic LBD. This is a pretty typical combination of elements that would work for a lot of cocktail party-type events. It’s classic, not trendy, but still chic. (Confession: I own zero LBDs. Black anywhere near my face simply deadens me. But a similar dress in dark charcoal gray could look just as elegant, if you’re an Earthy Rich who has the same problem!)

To take it a bit more fashion-forward and add some femininity, one of the wonderful and colorful faux fur jackets and coats they are showing lately would be a lot of fun.