Besides decorating the tree, spending countless hours buying and wrapping gifts, and eating and drinking my body weight in cookies and champagne, Christmas movies are without a doubt what really gets me feeling all sorts of merry during the holiday season. Seriously though, growing up it was practically a requirement in my house that we watch Christmas Vacation at least five times during the month of December, and since I’m being honest it was more like ten… So in keeping with my relentless desire to relate my life to all of my favorite movies, come on you know you do too 🙂 , I see no reason why this completely unrealistic and perhaps unhealthy habit need not apply at Christmas. While I love Family Stone, Love Actually, and Elf as much as any pure blooded millennial American woman, while cozied up on the couch watching It’s a Wonderful Life the other night I couldn’t help but be inspired by the beauty of its black and white simplicity.
A story of romance and joy, regrets and hardships, and ultimately a life altering revelation of seeing and appreciating the beauty and wonder in life, I’m taking the sentiments of this Christmas classic and applying them to my own sartorial spin on holiday style. While the Christmas season is full of toasting, gift giving, and elation, it can also be hectic, busy, and stressful. For most of us December weekends (and most weekdays) are booked with holiday parties, shopping, decorating, travel, and family gatherings, which means we’re endlessly trying to put together one festive holiday outfit after the next.
Having a slew of perfect outfits for all of these activities and get togethers can seem quite daunting, which is why I typically turn to the tried and true black and white combination. Either dressed up or down, the black and white look is incredibly versatile, classic, simple, and elegant. With a couple luxe statement pieces, black and white is an essential go-to look for the holidays. So if you’re in a closet rut while trying to get dressed for the next party and feeling like jumping of a bridge I will be the Clarence to your George Bailey with some styling tips and holiday ornaments to take your simple black and white look from zero to merry.
There’s nothing I love quite more than a crisp button up shirt, and this “endless shirt” from J.Crew is an absolute staple in my wardrobe. I like to layer things over it because I love the dramatically long shirt tails, but it’s also fantastic worn on it’s own. With a longer and loose but tailored cut this shirt takes on a more tunic vibe AKA comfortably chic. I got these pants about six months ago, and they are a refreshingly modern alternative to my usual slim cut cigarette trousers. I wear black pants out A LOT, and if you’re in the same boat I can’t recommend these enough. The cropped flare silhouette of these pants is flattering for pretty much any body shape and is perfect for showing off snazzy shoes. The beauty of the white and black look is that it is so simple to put together. Grab one of your favorite white tops and black bottoms, or vise versa, and you’re nearly ready to break into the bubbly 🙂 .
Typically I wear only one statement piece in an outfit, but what are the holidays if not a time to go a little crazy?! Multiple statement pieces works for a monochrome look because the understated black and white creates a canvas to showcase the glitz and glam. I would stick to the same color, perhaps in different shades and textures, and pile it all on. I use clutches very often and this ultra feminine turquoise and brown bedazzled gem pairs very well with a structured and simple outfit like this. I know brown and black are supposed to be taboo together, but I quite like the two colors together because I think the warmth of the brown makes the black more striking.
I really love statement earrings, but I’ll admit I don’t have very many. I bought these ones through my sister who is a sales representative for Stella and Dot, and have gotten so much wear out of them. This particular pair is a 4-in-1 style so it can be worn in four different ways: studs, small dangle (with no tassel), as an ear jacket (with tassel), or as the full earring (shown.) I loved the color and texture of the fringe and even more so because they look great with a cotton beach dress in the summer, or dressed up for holiday cocktails.
My favorite accessory colors are red and blue, so most of my statement pieces are in those colors which makes it terribly easy to quickly throw together different outfits. Pick a vibrant color and/or print (or two) and as you are building up your collection of accessories, shoes, and outerwear try to stick to the same colors/prints, so eventually you’ll have a collection that works together interchangeably.
I feel like I’m starting to sound like a broken record on the brilliance of a red lip so I won’t blab on about that, but if you haven’t already please give it a try! It’s really important to find a shade that looks natural with your skin tone, so just go to a beauty counter where you can sample to make sure you get a shade right for your skin tone.
If you need to add to your collection of holiday ornaments, I’ve done a little shopping around to give you a selection of some gorgeous pieces available now:
