holiday party outfit ideas pt. 1
it's the most wonderful time of the year (at least for serving looks)
(Back after a brief break for Thanksgiving — hope you had a nice holiday!)
Like a magpie searching for something shiny in a grassy field (do magpies not like shiny things, really?), or that adorable little platypus creature from the “Harry Potter” spinoffs that’s always collecting pieces of jewelry, or Mrs. Harris when she sees a sparkly Dior gown for the first time and decides to get one to wear to her Legion dance, or Audrey Hepburn waltzing down the Louvre steps in a cherry red Givenchy dress (very in season) yelling that she doesn’t want to stop waltzing in her dress because she likes it… I love a little glamour, especially during the holidays. Sue me!
Or a lot of glamour, despite the fact that my most common plans throughout December are laying on my couch watching holiday movies and gazing lovingly at my tree. Yet I sit there, dipped in glue and glitter, reveling in the fantasy land that is red silk ballgowns and white feathered wedding dresses.
So before I get into some of my own holiday party outfits, I want to set the scene with some glamorous sartorial inspiration from the pictures.
I watched “Meet Me in St. Louis” (1944) for the first time recently, mostly for its big 25-minute Christmas act. If you’re a fan of holiday movies/iconography then it’s a worthwhile watch this season, between the life-size snowmen and a Christmas party with lots of dancing and drama and, most of all, the OUTFITS! (Also has a pretty decent Halloween scene to remember for next year.)
The best sartorial moment of the entire film, in my opinion, is Judy Garland’s bedazzled headscarf that did distract me a bit from her just-as-beautiful musical number, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas.” I can’t find a similar one online, but this small silver organza scarf would be a nice nod to it.
This is equal parts Judy Garland and tree garland inspo. The red of that dress! The red garland strung around the tree and colorful baubles! This scene made me realize I actually wasn’t finished decorating my tree because it did not have enough red garland/bows. Lots of good red holiday dress options on Etsy.
Then there are Cameron Diaz’s looks in “The Holiday” (2006) which got a nice shoutout in Vogue last week and also happens to be my #1 favorite movie of all time. (This is exactly what I look like watching “The Holiday” every Christmas and also at least once every summer.)
Above, Diaz’s character Amanda is in a knee-length dress with cream spaghetti straps, a black corset-like top and a green and black silk tutu skirt for New Year’s Eve. It’s the perfect holiday dress because it’s simple, looks like a costume from “The Nutcracker” and incorporates several festive colors. Below she’s wearing a cream, long, wool, fit-and-flare coat with a bunch of buttons elbowing each other for space — which makes it!
One more enviable look of Amanda’s: A velvet v-neck top with cap sleeves tucked into a cream pencil skirt embellished with a wide sash belt featuring a large sparkly buckle. Minimal, fun, festive and sexy. Just like her character.
What makes the following look so beautiful is probably 90% Keira Knightley, but her wedding look in “Love Actually” (2003) is great inspiration for holiday dressing. She looks like a snowflake in “The Nutcracker” — we should all be dressing like ballerinas during this season, whether balletcore is in or not — but better (and it’s not east to look better than a ballerina on stage). This is also achievable without spending a lot of money, as you could just tie white ribbons in your hair, find a white feathery scarf or choker and hold a white corsage. Go full wedding, who cares? Anything goes on NYE.
Lastly, I need to include at least one outfit from “White Christmas” (1954). I settled on this black dress worn by Rosemary Clooney in "Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me.” She’s a festive and sophisticated Barbie doll in a long black dress that fits her perfectly and white satin gloves. But her hair! I’ll be on YouTube next week in the bathroom holding a can of hairspray trying to figure out how to make my own bob do that static wave pattern.
Now onto some holiday looks I created this week:
I know I said last time that my dressing challenges wouldn’t be solved by more shopping, but alas, I’ve had a case of the shoppies. The Black Friday/holiday advertising washed over me like a powerful wave, pulling me into a sea of webpages crowded with many beautiful things that I wanted for very reduced prices. However! I’ve been too mean to myself recently, which is partly why I was so susceptible to the shopping temptress anyways, and so I’m not going to dwell any longer on my self disappointment. (I bought this book yesterday - 30% off! lol - and already read half of it to help with that.) I’m trying something new by being charitable to myself. After all, nearly everything I bought was secondhand, and my body changed a lot this year so I’ve needed to replace certain things, and I picked out some other things from my closet to consign, and best of all, by some miracle, I’m thrilled with what I purchased.
I promised an update to my last newsletter, the one in which I discussed creating a moodboard and analyzing its contents for patterns to form a mission, vision and values for your wardrobe. (If all that sounds too corporate it’s because I’ve been getting down to business over here and also writing a lot of cover letters!) Sticking to my challenge, I’ve been consulting my moodboard often and keeping my sartorial goals in mind when getting dressed and shopping — and the results have been satisfying. I feel more like myself in my outfits and less likely to wear something that isn’t quite right because I was inspired by someone on the internet.
Lastly, I’ve implemented a shopping break. The only way to slow the shoppies is to abruptly halt momentum. And so for the next few months, I’ll be settling into my wardrobe, learning its ins and outs and taking care of my things. (Related:
’s laundry breakdown is a must-read for anyone who has been investing in their wardrobe and wants their pieces to last for a long time.)Below are a few of my recent outfits inspired by my moodboard, featuring the spoils of recent hauls. Thought I’d do a twofer since I took last week off.
Signing off for now. Thanks for reading and happy December! I’ll be back next week with some more festive looks, especially since I don’t have nearly enough holiday parties on my calendar for all of the outfits I’d like to wear. So welcome to my online holiday party!
xx Francesca 🎄
Such great finds, and they seem to have slipped into your outfits like they’ve always belonged -- if I bought similar items I would take forever to figure out how to make it work. Happy December!
Had to come back and say I’m still thinking about these outfits days later. Excellent styling and inspiration!