Well, I’ll tell you right off the top what not to wear: American traditional holiday knitwear. 24 comments and the most commonly repeated word was “hideous”. Tiffany suggests the following reasons people wear them:
- love of that cutesy, “country” Americana,
- love of crafts and decoration (I’ve run out of things to make and decorate for the holiday, so I’ll decorate myself!), and
- “thriftiness”/pack rat tendencies (it only gets worn once a year, so it’s too nice to toss).
Do you see yourself in any of those?
I’ll be honest; if I were ever tempted to wear that kind of thing, it would be because that’s what my host(ess) was wearing and I wasn’t sure how to translate “casual” + “festive” into my own idiom. But I’m thinking, this year, that my new dark brown trouser-style cords will come in handy.
What’s your Christmas casual formula?
I feel pretty crafty this time of year, so I’m making my own skirt for Christmas parties. I bought a navy blue cotton summer kimono, called a yukatta for 3.50. It has large white leaves, light green leaves, and bright red berries. I removed all of the seams that gave the kimono its shape and then resewed it into a flat square. Then I used a knee length a-line wrap skirt I already own as a pattern. I don’t have a machine so I’m sewing by hand on the bus to and from work. I plan to wear it with a red blouse and some chunky green vintage jewelry.
That’s awesome, Sharon! You make me want to get busy and make something.
Send in a picture, if you’d like to share your end product. 🙂
Oohh, Sharon, I want that! That sounds fabulous. I do hope you send in a pciture.
Have a wonderful time in it and wear it in good health and happiness.
I have a red merino sweater set that I trot out around Christmas, which I wear with jeans, cords, tweed pants, or slinky black matte jersey pants depending on the formality of the event. For cocktail-party type things (we go to no more than one of these in most holiday seasons), I wear a knee-length black wrap dress with a jacquard shawl in red, black, and silvery gray. None of it is very inventive, but then “cute” is really not me. My mom, a retired Minnesotan, wears those hideous sweaters . . .
Other reason for wearing the dreaded sweater: Sense of humor – the same type that would lead you to wear Dame Edna glasses, etc.
being will to go “in character” can be fun!
Probably trouser style jeans or boot-cut khakis with a button-down fitted shirt and heeled boots. I would wear sparkly earrings/necklace to make it festive. My holiday wear is star earrings that look kind of snowflakey. Looking good is always festive.
My just above the knee gray cashmere sweater dress with opaque tights will probably be my “go to” outfit this season. I’ll probably wear it more casually as well with leggings and over jeans.
If I need to be a bit dressier, a pencil skirt and dressy (but not definitely not holiday themed) sweater.
“For those who love cutesy “country” Americana”. LOL. You had me laughing for like 5 minutes. Hmm, is it bad if I think that sweater is kind of cute…
What are you going to be wearing on the party circuit this year, Rebecca? Pictures?
Sheri ~ I like your formula. And I will try to take some pictures, maybe even today, although I’ve been shopping all morning (for gifts) and I don’t think I’ll have the energy to get all dressed up.
For Thanksgiving: long sleeve black knit top with silk black and beige print bow-neck blouse under, worn with nice jeans and high heeled red clogs.
For cocktail: a vintage lbd that popped up in a box of stuff from the grandmas this year.
For casual Christmas: I have lots of options. Not lots of invitations at this point, though. Probably some variation of nice slacks + shiny top + the necessary layer.
I like Wendy’s and Nicole’s formulas too. Love the snowflakey earrings idea.
HC ~ No, it isn’t bad you like the sweater pictured. I was trying to picture something that had the feel of the holiday sweaters, without the “hideous” factor. lol
Pingback: The Space Between My Peers » Happy Thanksgiving!
I try to stay away from a red top of any type, and I usually opt for black sweater with jeans or winter white slacks.
For a casual Christmas party I am considering a black sweater or nice black button front shirt, dark jeans, black boots with a heel and nice jewelry. Black is always awesome. Even black casual pants instead of jeans but our Christmas party is for a Construction Company where most of the guys will have jeans on.
Laurie, I think jeans are great for that type of event. Black jeans would be fine too, if you look good in head to toe black. Sometimes I think those construction type people are intimidated by a dressier look.
Provided a person wears black near the face well, dcrmom’s formula is great for the busty body type. 🙂
I posted recently on what I just bought (“Allure: A hard shop”), and will also wear a black Mongolian-lamb-trimmed sweater jacket with a boat-necked LBD, and a Chinese shirt I had made in wool-silk Versace fabric with matte jersey wide-legged pants. I won’t be attending parties where anyone would wear jeans, but if so, I’d wear black,, that one notch up is important for a sense of occasion.
Last year, Ragstock (the big used-clothing hipster store in the Twin Cities) featured Those Holiday Sweaters as hipster gear. I did not buy one.
For casual-festive, I’d probably wear what I’m wearing now: black jeans, black boots, black or gray scoop-neck long-sleeved t-shirt, red leather jacket, dramatic piece of jewelry. I wear red all year, but no one’s going to say it isn’t Xmas-y.
A little dressier: black-and-red plaid skirt with red v-neck sweater, black pumps. I wear this to work.
Into LBD territory, but I’m too tall to buy an LBD: black pencil skirt, black v-neck sweater, black heels, “important” necklace. No brand names for me: Target & J.C. Penney are my friends this year.
Duchesse – I love that top! And in the sapphire color – gorgeous! I so admire that look, and yet I can’t imagine it will ever work for me. But I’m okay with that now. 🙂
I’m also amused that you won’t be attending parties where anyone would wear jeans. It must just be a west of the Rockies thing, but I don’t know that there would be such a party here in Spokane. We even saw people in jeans at Fiddler on the Roof! And every year there are people at the company Christmas party in jeans, no matter how nice the location.
Anyway, I have considered black jeans, but there is something sort of “cowboy dress pant” about them in my mind. I like to have a pair of velvet jeans to wear for the holidays, but when I got those nice corduroy trousers for $3, I decided they’d do for the time being. 🙂
Wende – eiuwww! Those Holiday Sweaters as hipster gear? Great! Now all the grandmas are going to think they’re in style!
I test-drove what I have to wear for casual-festive to a dance recital the other night: dark brown corduroy trousers, tee-shirt with sparkly neckline and cardigan with sparkly buttons, vintage kitten heel booties (black with brown fur), and silver mesh belt. I think that will work for me this year, and I’ll be comfortable. I may wear the shiny dark green shirt-dress for dressier.
Recently I had somewhat of an epiphany concerning my aversion to necklaces: I think I could wear a simpler, bolder style necklace. Why bother wearing a necklace if it’s not “important”? I also don’t like too much embellishment; like earrings and necklace at the same time. Anyway, I had these thoughts and then I went in and biffed through my jewelry and accessories. I did save the glass chili pepper though, thinking that would be festive on a chain for holiday. lol
I’m travelling back to the US (Buffalo NY) for Christmas, and hope to actually MAKE the family gathering on Christmas eve. I’m almost finished knitting this:
http://www.considerthelily.co.uk/cable-peplum-cardigan-530-c.asp
in a dark lavender.
I’ve been doing LOADS of knitting these days–have laways loved it, and decided to beef up my cardi collection.
The other day I found a beautiful dark brown, ultra-fine wale cord skirt, with a screen print of orchids with beaded centres. It will be PERFECT with the cardi, and a darker purple l/s crew neck under it. Probably my bronze jewelled flats and I haven’t picked the tights yet. Found the skirt at the Cancer Research UK charity shop, so no pic.
So, that’s the family event. Haven’t yet had other invitations, so don’t quite know.
I don’t know why you couldn’t wear that same outfit to almost any casual event – it sounds quite lovely! Congratulations on your knitting!
Thanks Rebecca–although I may not finish the cardi in time. I’m unhappy with something about the sleeves, and I’ve decided it’s better not to have it fast, but to unravel it and rework it so that it’s right for the long haul.
My formula is almost exactly like Sherri’s of two years ago – (my shade of) red sweater combined with the appropriate bottom and accessories to suit the hour and venue. This takes me to almost all Christmas social and church services. Only semi-formal event I can count on happening is office party, which is always in January, and I have a smattering of appropriate shiny things I can rotate for that.
@Wendy – are you from Buffalo? My family (well, parents at least) are western NY too, so that’s where I’ll be at Christmas. (They’re coming here for Thanksgiving – eek!)
MellaDP, I grew up in the eastern part of NYS. My brother’s wife is from Kenmore, and about 10 years ago my brother’s job moved them to WNY. My bro is my ‘family’, and by extension, the small nation state into which he married. They live in East Aurora. I moved to England about 3.5 years ago.