Dressing for the Holidays

Now that the cold weather is finally upon us (boo!) it's time to start thinking about all those holiday parties we're going to be attending over the season.  The big questions on everyone's mind are: "what on earth do I wear??" & "how much is it going to cost?!?".  We all know that the holidays can put a huge strain on our wallets so without breaking the bank here are some ideas to get you through the holidays with little stress and money still left in your wallet!


The Ever Elusive Office Party
We all know that in there comes that time in the year when a memo goes around inviting everyone to the famed (or infamous) office holiday party.  We also know that there are many of us who absolutely dread it (myself included).  Without going into office party etiquette, I would like to share with you some ideas for wowing your co-workers without having your image posted all over the internet in a less-than-fabulous light.


During Office Hours
Typically these dos occur within the operating day and as such we need to be mindful of what we sport to such an event, and as such you should consider separates or a work appropriate dress.  Here are some ideas from Ricki's:

Separates

Accessories

Work Appropriate Dresses

Key to Wearing the During Office Hours Separates:

The tops can be worn with the skirts shown (or with pants, of course) and you can either wear a blazer or opt to show some skin.  If your top has a jeweled neckline it is not necessary to wear a necklace, instead wear some drop or chandelier earrings, a cocktail ring and even some bracelets.

Price Points for the items shown:

$12.50 - $129.50 CAD

After-work Office Functions

There are the rare occasions when the office holiday function is held after-work (in the evening) or on the weekends.  For these functions it is recommended that you glam it up, so here are some glitzy holiday ideas from Le Chateau:

LBDs

Festive Dresses

Pant and Suit Options

Key to wearing LBDs and Festive Dresses:

You can either spice up your dress by wearing estate-style jewelery or keep the jewels understated.  If you don't want to show too much skin opt for a wrap; but if you do remember to wear a clutch because the last thing you want to be doing all night is fidgeting with your bag and your wrap.

Price Points for Items Shown:
$130 - $324.87+ CAD

The beauty about the Le Chateau website is that you can "Shop the Look", which means that every item shown, from pantyhose to earrings are priced out for you.  This makes it easy to shop for exactly what you want and leave out what you don't.

Naturally, these options can easily be worked into your friend & family gatherings, so be sure to get into the holiday spirit while out shopping for your next great holiday ensemble and the beauty of shopping for your festive soiree is that these pieces can easily take you into the New Year and beyond!

Happy Shopping!

Other Places to Consider:

Suzy Shier

H&M

Jacob

Mexx

Dynamite

Mango

RW&Co

BCBG

Denise

...+ Many, Many more!

Is it November already? The Christmas Countdown begins...

It's hard to believe that Halloween was 5 days ago and already the shops are packed with holiday trimmings.  I could've sworn I starting seeing hints of Christmas creeping in slowly by the time the school year started back in September; but sure enough it wasn't even the end of October and the stores were already packed with everything festive.  Now don't get me wrong, Christmas for me is a magical time of year and by far one of my most favourite holidays so I guess it's no surprise that I'm going to be dedicating a few posts on this very topic.


In anticipation of Jolly 'ol St. Nick
If you're like me, you're already thinking ahead about trimming the house with all the festive fixings; hanging the lights, setting up the tree, decorating the banister and mantle, sending out Christmas cards, buying presents..etc.  But for some of us, decorating for the holidays is a chore and not a joy.  And I can fully understand why, the amount of holiday ornaments to adorn your home and your tree with are overwhelming at best. So a quick way to begin thinking about what you would like your house to look and feel like during the holidays is to think in themes, in particular colour themes.  I know, it sounds kitschy and a bit hokey, but trust me thinking in themes is the easiest way to keep on track and deck out your halls.


I'll have a Blue Christmas...
One of the first tricks to thinking about holiday themes is to think in colours.  Monochromatic and Multi-Coloured themes work best if you take into consideration your existing space and make sure that you don't go overboard.  Here are some tips and examples:


Monochromatic Theme:
If your home is already adorned with soft shades of cream and white you could easily stick with the same colour theme and deck out all your holiday decor in these same shades.  Likewise, you could easily introduce variations on shades of blue or green or red solely into your holiday decor.  Here are a few examples:

Multi-Coloured Theme:

If your home has many shades or even if it consists of only one or two, nothing should stop you from incorporating a multi-coloured holiday theme.  The trick when considering a multi-colour theme is to stick with two or three colours at most.  The more colours you introduce, the harder it will be to tie them together.  For example, red and green are always safe bets and work very nicely together; red and gold are other good contenders.  Blue, white and gold make a nice combination for a more modern look & Purple, pink and turquoise make for a festive Mardi-Gras look.  A tip for making the most of the multi-theme look is to build in shades of the two or three colours you select.  This will give the theme more depth and interest.  Here are some examples:

Holiday decorating is a lot of fun once you take the chore out of it.  So get out there and start thinking about the colour theme you'd like to bring into your home and start building on your collection, trust me all the fun is in the hunt and in setting it all up!

Places to consider:

Crate and Barrel

West Elm

Pottery Barn

Pier 1

BouClair

Homesense

...and just about anywhere!

Happy Shopping!