As much as I love fashion you will not find me advertising trends here, any must have I see fit to recommend is a timeless piece that you will use for years to come and return season after season. My favorite holiday pieces sometime sit out a few years and then come back in styling variations and some I cannot resist wear every year repeatedly. I stand for everything timeless and elegant and rarely purchase items that will last a brief season, I know what I am describing is in fact a trend, but I promise this has always been the case for me. It was probably to do with my upbringing, my parents being very generous and indulgent were also rather frugal, so we kept to old world traditions of appreciating the old and reusing it as much as possible, and anything that was new (we had lots of new don’t get me wrong) was a forever. They would never invest in anything without seeing it serve them a few decades, even something as trivial as clothes. Clothing had to without argument be high quality, elegant and neat. After all it had to be timeless and nothing that lacks quality can withstand the test of time. Despite living in fashion and getting carried away sometimes I still shop in the same manner, somehow these basic rules stuck with me, perhaps these are just deep-rooted values on a genetic level, since my grandparents were hardly any different. Keep, reuse, pass on is the moto we grew up with, live with and raise our kids with, so it is needless to say that my Christmas must haves are classics for keeps.
Luckily for us Christmas trends are often on repeat, such as sequins, velvet, tartan and fair isle. I know that sometimes more is attempted by various stylists and brands but it’s one of those “don’t fix what isn’t broken” things, Christmas is about tradition, it’s about the known and it’s about comfort, both literal and liberal there is no need to reinvent the bicycle. Stick to the classics which will make your looks both most stylish and chic which is obviously what you are after if you are reading this.
My absolute number one must have for Christmas is velvet. There is nothing more elegant than velvet in the winter, in any color, in any style it elevates any garment. The shortest mini will look classy (not knocking the mini) in dark velvet. I have several velvet pieces in my wardrobe ready for holidays, as it is my go-to and should be yours too. Normally I like to stick with burgundy or green velvet shades, but this year I have been taken by the blue velvet collections presented by so many brands (see the selection below). When doing my holiday shopping for this year, I immediately made note of dark blue velvet being the color of the season. Burgundy is very popular this fall/winter but make no mistake about it, THE colour is blue for velvet this year. A surprising twist for me as blue has never really been a colour of choice for me over Christmas, as I said I am traditional girl, but the lasting elegance of dark blue velvet left me speechless and defeated.
Burgundy satin is going just as strong if not more, if blue isn’t festive enough for you or like me you prefer to keep it red or green for Christmas, you have endless options in dark cherry satin. The rich deep red shines in this gliding fabric, it is lightweight and sophisticated not to mention it is easier to wear indoors with blasting heaters everywhere over the winter.
Another classic that is presented year after year and is undeniably festive is gold and silver sequins. Countless designers have included gold or silver or both sequined garments in their holidays capsules this year in both short and long versions of the dresses, my absolute favourite which I even shelved as an option for my New Years Eve look is the beautiful gold sequin Carolina Herrera gown. Albeit I opted for a different dress in the end, which I cannot wait to reveal on New Years Eve on my IG page this was a close runner up.
Silver sequins being a happy wardrobe addition every winter season, this year they are especially happening but more than that silver lace has been a hit, with Dolce Gabbana presenting their iconic lace in blackened silver for their holiday collection, not an expected option but lace is a forever fabric and silver is a forever colour, so if you are indeed looking to add something new to your closet over the holidays this year, you cannot go wrong with these incredible lace dresses and sets, both over the holidays and for many years to come.
There is no need to find a groundbreaking piece for the holidays, the most successful looks historically are never the ones that turned most heads but ones that looked particularly well-tailored, classic and timeless. The most important must haves this season are those which complement you and will last a lifetime.
Check out my selection below, bisous! X
