MissusSmartyPants Personal Profile Style Article Volume 11 Week 48 December 1, 2016 Holiday Outfit Planner Remember: only the last 4 weeks remain posted! It s the season to sparkle! The holiday season is the time to wear rich fabrics like; velvet, faux-fur trim, romantic ruffles, lace and sparkly sequins. Fabulous and festive clothing helps you celebrate the holidays. MissusSmartyPants says, By wearing something joyous, you become part of the sparkle and glory of the holidays. There is no time to wait! Get your holiday outfit(s) together right now, before you get super-busy! If you wait to put together something stylish...you ll panic and stress about it. Often you end up spending money on something you may never wear again. Plan now...using your current wardrobe. You may only need to buy a new festive accessory-that s all! Pull out your wardrobe workhorse: Your Little Black Dress. It can be a blank canvas for various festive looks:
Nowhere to go? I recommend getting an outfit together anyways (from your closet, of course). Even if you are not invited anywhere, guess whatyou might be. If you are invited somewhere, (often at the last minute) at least you have a festive outfit ready, or just because you want to dress festive for fun. Perhaps your plans only include going out to dinner with family and friends during the holiday season...dress UP and look festive! Every occasion during the holidays is more fun when you ve got your style together. Now is time to put together what you are going to wear. The Nutcracker play (for the umpteenth time), holiday parties, church services, and casual neighborhood get-togethers all require something nice to wear. Having a couple of style ideas ready to go in your closet will keep the chaos and stress from creeping in. It will also assure you that you ll look good and and enjoy yourself (without spending unnecessary money on clothes you don t necessarily need in the first place). Too cold to dress up? Nonsense, bundle up. If you don t live in sunny Los Angeles, chances are it s going to be pretty cold outside when you do attend a festive event. No worries. You can still wear something fabulous (with sleeves) and look sparkly and wonderful. Festive layers keep you warm... Bare legs? No way! This question comes up a lot: what to do in winter when you want to wear a festive dress, but not expose your legs. In fact, below I m asked again, Can I wear hose? Q: Dear MSP-I have a question about wearing hose. I know it s not really done by younger girls my daughter is horrified when I even mention the
possibility! But I m cold natured and I freeze in the cooler weather if I don t have something on my legs. I like to wear dresses especially to dressy events. But tights aren t appropriate with my dressy dresses. Not to mention that my legs aren t flawless any longer as my daughter s are! So what do you suggest? Thanks for your help! Bev A: The truth is, some tights are appropriate for dressy dresses, and some are not. It depends on the fabric of the dress and the type of tights (smooth and sleek, or nubby and textured). Panty hose are slowly starting to trend back into fashion-but still not a popular choice. So yes, you could wear them, however, a more stylish option are fishnet tights. They cover your imperfections, give you more warmth than bare legs, allow you to wear a shorter hemline (if you d like) and add some fun style to your outfit. Another idea, wear knee high boots for more leg coverage-this works if the dress is not too dressy and the event is not super fancy. Textured tights work with just about any festive dress or skirt... Nude-colored fishnet stockings work well with any color dress and shoes...
A sequin dress and sweater dresses work well with black opaque tights...
Don t freeze just because you are dressing up! A sheath dress that skims your silhouette will be classy and stylish (you can even wear black tights to keep your legs warm)... The Limited Fringe Sheath Dress-petite, misses, tall
Brrr...Baby it s cold outside! Here s another festive idea... The Limited Fringe A-Line Skirt Halogn V-Neck Cashmere Sweater-many colors Festive style starts in your closet FIRST. Look for pieces like these below that you could possibly wear BEFORE you head to the stores and plunk down the plastic... A sparkly lame top A nice fitting dress or skirt (solid colors--no prints) Palazzo (or other dressy) pants A pretty fuzzy sweater or sparkly cardigan Use what s in your closet first to help you create your festive outfit. Start with the most basic wardrobe pieces--then go from there. For example, start creating an outfit by using a basic black skirt or dress or slack. Even a fitted black blazer and dark dress jeans will be a great starting place for a casual outfit. Now go to your jewelry box and look for sparkly earrings, rings, necklaces, belts--anything festive (sparkly, dressy and fun). Now check out your shoe selection...do you have dressy shoes from a military ball or fancy wedding or graduation party you could possibly wear? How about red suede pumps (or another bright colored shoe)? Now mix and match to see what OUTFITS you can come up with using what you ve got. ***You might only need to purchase one accessory (or a sparkly sweater) to complete your holiday outfit!!! Relax. You might not need to buy anything new.
Those red pumps can be the start of a fabulous festive look! Add dress slacks in winter-white or a basic black dress... Now, add some sparkly accessories a warm cardigan---and you re all set! Below are style don ts...holiday decorated sweaters/vests with blinking reindeers, wreaths, or decorated trees on them. They are all OUT OF STYLE and too kitschy. Leave the holiday décor for the front door! These aren t even remotely stylish... Tacky sweaters are DON TS! You don t want to be known as the woman that dresses silly, inappropriate, or tacky at the holiday office party. You don t want to be wearing something outdated, ill-fitting or over-exposed either. You will look like a million bucks with MSP s clever festive style ideas below!
Frugal style tip: Check out the sales rack for a simple RED dress... Now add gold sparkly accessories you already own + shoes... DON T spend too much. More than likely, you probably won t wear fancy occasion clothes enough to make spending a lot a worthy investment. You should be able to find everything to complete your festive look on sale. Consider purchasing ONLY festive accessories you can wear with a basic dress or dress slacks or black blazer and dark denims... For example, perhaps all you need is a printed red scarf you wear with a winter-white sweater and dress slacks... Coldwater Creek Vintage Charm Holiday Scarf
START with your classic LBD (Little Black/Basic Dress) or a basic black skirt & pant. NOW ADD... Add a rhinestone belt Or sparkly chandelier earrings to take your look up-a-notch A sparkly gold or plaid hairband A wrap sweater with a sparkly brooch worn at the neckline A large sparkly brooch worn at the waist Metallic or patent leather shoes and handbag to match A unique jewel-toned clutch ALL of the above items will add some sparkle to your LBD! Get creative by starting with your Little Black Dress. Start with your LBD (little black/brown basic dress)... Every SYSter should have a LBD in her closet. Alex Evenings Side Ruched Jersey Dress-3 colors Anna & Ava Crystal Statement Necklace +
Antonio Melani Sadina Sandals Kate Landry Metallic Clutch Your LBD works every time! For real chic-style...don t wear both a red purse and shoes instead choose either a red (or other color) purse (like above) then wear silver, nude or a black shoes. Start with a soft velvet jacket to create this festive look: Calvin Klein Velvet Suiting Blazer
Gianni Bini Sequin Midi Chesea & Violet Lined A-Line Skirt Calvin Klein Metallic Brocade Skirt Don t forget a pair of sparkly earrings! Natasha Teardrop Earrings
Dress festove with a bright-colored dress! For a festive dressy look... Think: A bright jewel-toned dress! Sangria Illusion Lace Fit n Flare Dress + Antonio Melani Marchela Pumps
Sparkle in Dressy Separates... Gianni Bini Boat Neck Sequin Top + IN Studio Elastic Waist Palazzo Pant Alex Marie Beaded Mini-Wedge
Budget-friendly style tips for the holidays: 1. Wear a work suit and show a bit of sparkle with a sequined trimmed camisole or shell underneath. No work purses switch to evening bag instead. 2. Add a pretty ruffled blouse or one with a touch of lace to a basic A- line skirt or basic pant from your wardrobe. Wear dressier shoes. Carry a gold clutch bag (look for a cute one at a big-box retailer or secondhand for next to nothing). 3. Wear the same color from head to toe (monochromatic) and add a jewel colored beaded shrug (cropped sweater) over the top then add chandelier earrings. This will make you look like a movie star! 4. When in doubt, wear pearls! You ll always look stylish when you wear a classic pearl necklace with a delicate sweater. Even layer on strands of pearls and add a rhinestone necklace too, like Coco Chanel! 5. Buy a fun glitzy bag or purchase some inexpensive over the top accessory to complete a basic outfit (LBD or basic pantsuit) you already have. All eyes will be on your cute bag or sparkly accessory! 6. Pull your hair back with a couple of sparkly clips or a sparkle headband and dust some shimmer powder in pink or flesh tone on your décolletage. Use these holiday outfit suggestions (before the rush of the season) to put together a festive outfit (mostly from your closet)! You ll be ready ahead of time for any invite that comes your way! Love, Leslie MSP Copyright 2006-16 LagTag LLC All rights reserved. This message may not be forwarded or reproduced in any format without the express written consent of MissusSmartyPants.com. Violators will be unsubscribed