Also titled, 3 Foundations to a Snazzy Holiday Wardrobe, the illustrated guide. Because, duh. 

Hello! Ready for an excuse to dress up? Lord knows I am, and we are getting into that time of year where you can be as festive as you’d like and no one can (or should) accuse you of being overzealous. There’s only one holiday season of 2018 so wear whatever makes you feel GLORIOUS.

I have always dressed up for the holidays. When my sister and I were little, my mom would bring us the Storybrook Heirlooms catalog  (RIP) so we could each pick out a new outfit. It was the 90s and an absolute rush of velvet and plaids and I even think there were some capes involved. We’d take a family picture and hustle over the hill to my grandmother’s house for the Family Gathering. She was particularly enthusiastic about whatever outfits we had picked out. The poofier the skirt, the happier she was. She’d somehow feel more accessible than before, being normally somewhat closed off. Something about clothing lit her up.

As I got older and started wearing less tulle and more makeup, my grandmother’s enthusiasm for my wardrobe tripled. She’d greet us with the usual, “how are you, dear,” and then demand a full inspection of my shoes. The higher and the skinnier the heel, and the more elaborate design, the giddier she became. It was something we could share, and as she was my closest grandparent, that meant a lot to me. 

Perhaps even more foundational to my love of holiday dress was that it was something my mom and I share. We both like a project, we both enjoy fashion, and man is it fun to have a partner in crime when scheming up an outfit to wear to an event. Now we live farther apart so there’s been less scheming than before, but nonetheless it’s a huge reason why dressing up is such a joy for me. Warm feelings.

So, with that, may I throw out a few ideas for your sartorial perusal? 

Choose your own glam: 3 Things to Look for in Holiday Dressing (other than gravy, lol)

I. TEXTURE

Find something that you want on your body. Simple as that. 

I went with silky here. “Silky” must be read in a breathy voice, FYI. 

The top? Real silk, like wearing melted butter. The skirt? Definitely a poly blend. Like wearing melted margarine. 

The SLEEVE on this top makes me want to nuzzle it somewhat inappropriately. Were my grandmother alive, she’d give me the green light on that one. 

The earrings have an absolutely ridiculous amount of fringe on them, which adds more dimension to the smooth textures of the skirt and top. 

The heels? My favorite velvet Zara heels, because even my toesies want rich textures.  Not the “fanciest” shoe I have as far as brand-snobbery goes, but I’m considering having a statement notarized that I’d like to be buried in them. You can be my witness to that, ok? 

II. MOVEMENT

There’s a seasonal drama about winter. The air takes a turn, emotions are heightened,  road rage rages, random acts of kindness abound, people throw tantrums and celebrate each other in equal doses. It must have something to do with the changing of the light that makes us so much more aware of our movement around the sun than almost any other time of year (the other time being summer solstice). 

So maybe that’s why it feels so right to wear something that flows with you, that makes you feel as special as the season itself. When selecting clothing for special events, I often ask myself (half joking), “if you were Queen, how would your garments make the air ripple around you?”

Somehow my inner monologue adopts a Downton Abby accent and I let it take over, and the result is that I strut around town like I own the place. In flowy dresses, of course. 

It could be a simple dress, a pair of wide-legged crepe trousers, or a full on cape as far as I care – as long as you feel confident and whole and totally royal, that’s success. 

I had doubts about this dress on the hanger. There’s a lot of fabric to it, and I assumed it would overwhelm my frame.

But man, when I put it on, all I wanted to do was this:

So I call that a WIN.

III. SHAPE

Go for something that creates an architectural effect on your frame. You can do it with a structured sleeve, a sleek silhouette, an asymmetrical hem, shoulder pads, the sky’s the limit. 

Also, your body itself is an architectural element – use it!

I went with my favorite pencil skirt (her name is Jezebel, FYI), a red shirt with mesh bubble sleeves, and lots of gold accents, because …  Portufabulous. There’s a part of my DNA reserved for the love of gold doubloons. 

The lines of this combo create a great shape by contrasting the nipped waist with those big old bubble sleeves. The idea is to accentuate different widths of the body and add the suggestion of curves, which is achieved both by the high waisted pleather glory of the skirt and the poof of the sleeves.

Try pairing different shapes and see what happens – a loose jacket with a waist belt or slim pants, a maxi skirt with a bodysuit, a boxy crop top with waxed skinny jeans. Experiment and have fun.

So there you have it! Texture, movement, and shape – pick one to focus on, or incorporate elements of all three. Let me know how it goes!

love

Stig