Seasonal Wardrobe Swaps Sure To Make Your Holiday Bright

Caring for Yourself, Forward Our Mail, Holidays, Self Care Motivation

caring for yourself:

While the holiday season presents opportunities for us to shine in festive attire, that doesn’t mean our everyday wardrobe options have to fall flat. Why not take this opportunity to review your closet and make a few simple seasonal wardrobe swaps that are sure to make your holiday bright – everyday! Here’s how…

Assess everything…

I know it may sound overwhelming at first, but trust me on this. It’s easier than you think. You know better than anyone the items you have in your closet that you love to wear, and those you don’t love to wear.

When it comes to making seasonal wardrobe swaps, that’s the first place to start. Remove anything in your closet that you don’t absolutely love to wear. We want the holidays to sparkle, sure…but we also want to be comfortable in what we put on our bodies.

You may end up with only a handful of bottoms; pants, jeans, skirts, and maybe a pair of cute shorts. You may be left with a couple blouses and a few sweaters. But that’s okay! In fact, when you have only the pieces you love, you’re sure to wear them on repeat anyway. Trust your gut instinct. If you don’t love it, store it away until after the holidays.

Festive bottom pieces
skirts and pants
blouses
blouses and tops
Festive sweaters
sweaters and blazers
Chose your color palette…

When I look at my closet as a whole, there are a few things I know I won’t be wearing during the holiday season. Things like a brown plaid flannel skirt, a brown houndstooth blazer, a couple of autumnal blouses, and a few pair of autumnal pants.

I do love these items, but they are more suited for the fall season than the Christmas season. So when doing seasonal wardrobe swaps, I like to remove anything I don’t think I’ll wear during the holiday season. As you work through your wardrobe, store those items away and bring them back out when you’re ready.

When choosing your holiday color palette, be sure to pick a few neutral pieces and stay within your color scheme. For me, my colors are always black and white / cream, and denim. Those are my basics. Then, for my holiday wardrobe swap, I keep anything that is red or wine colored, dark or forest green, and a deep camel. That way I know everything will work together, I can build multiple options from my basics, and still look and feel festive.

Every outfit doesn’t have to be red and green.

Let’s talk about color while we’re here. Not every outfit has to be red and green. Right now the Ralph Lauren aesthetic is all the buzz. That includes camels and leathers and navy blues. If you don’t like to wear red or green, look for the colors that still feel festive, but fit into the wardrobe you already own. Maybe your color palette is camels, tans, and grays. Pair them with navy, slate, or chambray.

Blues and camels pair beautifully with gold tones as well. So think about your accessories; belt buckles, hardware on handbags and shoes. Add festive sparkle with an animal print, or a velvet jacket. The idea is to take your everyday pieces and look at them in light of the holiday season.

Add the sparkle and pizzaz…

The next thing I do during my seasonal wardrobe swaps is to pull out the everyday pieces that might lend themselves specifically to the festive feeling of the holidays.

For me, that includes two white lace blouses, a sweater vest with pearl beading, a white blouse with puff sleeves and a Peter Pan Collar, a deep wine colored blazer, and black lace and silk blazer. It also includes a black fur sweater and a black lady jacket with gold buttons. These items really add a touch of something special when paired with every day items – even with jeans.

Think about the things you may have in your closet you only wear on special occasions. Maybe you have a lace dress you keep for special occasions. Think about how you could possibly work that into your everyday items for the month of December. For me this practice includes a tartan plaid skirt I purchased at Target when the store still sold the Cherokee branding. It must be over 20+ years old. But each holiday season, I pull it back out, wear it a handful of times during December, and then store it back away for the following year.

special occasion tops
Tartan plaid Christmas dress
Extend everyday pieces…

Before putting away all of my summer pieces, I like to look at each piece in light of the holiday season, keeping my festive color palette in mind. This includes a couple of my summer dresses that when paired with a festive sweater can extend the wearability of the dress, and really make it feel festive for the holiday season. One specific dress I have in mind is a black dress with white flowers. The flowers have a tiny gold center. When paired with a pair of boots and a festive sweater – I have a white sweater with black floral buttons – it suddenly looks like something you could wear all the way through New Years. Two very basic items, but when paired together make one great holiday-centric wardrobe swap.

Even tiny changes can make big impact. If you’re pairing a black bottom and a cream colored top, take it to the holiday level with a red sweater or wine jacket. Even a scarf can be all you need to take it from basic to festive.

black and white outfit
Own it…

Once you’ve assessed everything in your wardrobe and chosen the items that look and feel festive to you, I encourage you to store away in under bed bins or fabric bins in your closet anything that doesn’t fit the festive vibe you’re going for.

The idea is to keep out only the things you want to wear during the holiday season. There may be a few pieces you only wear during the holidays – like my tartan plaid skirt and furry sweater. That’s okay. Christmas only comes once a year. It’s alright if you spend the month of December dressing like every day is a celebration.

And finally, own it. If you feel festive – it’s okay if you behave festively. Wear a tartan plaid skirt and wine colored blazer with a white lace blouse to the grocery and see how it spreads the holiday cheer to others around you. Pair a green sweater with a pair of jeans and carry a sequined handbag to the movies. You’re sure to get a few smiles. The point is… making these simple wardrobe swaps by removing anything that doesn’t say Christmas to you, and only wearing what makes you feel like everyday is a party, well… it might just change how you feel throughout the entire month.

purses
Belts
shoes
A holiday capsule wardrobe…

Think of it as a holiday capsule wardrobe. You may already do something similar when packing for a vacation. Think of this as your wardrobe’s holiday vacation. I feel certain you’ll feel more festive during the month of December, and you’ll wear items that really change the way you feel, too.

Don’t forget the accessories. Shoes, purses, scarves, and jewelry can also be paired down to fit into your wardrobe swap. Personally, I keep out a couple pair of black shoes, a pair of red shoes, a pair of wine colored shoes, and a pair of camel shoes. In addition, I also keep out my winter boots.

Purses are also paired back to camel, black, and red. I have on vintage Dooney and Burke I pull out during the holidays as well. It’s black and red plaid and it is spectacular as a clutch. I also reserve a YSL bag with a chain strap that fits perfectly with my holiday wardrobe, and carry my burgundy Demellier bag on repeat. These special occasion accessories always elevate an outfit and make it immediately holiday ready.

What’s the point?

I often get asked why I go to so much trouble doing this particular wardrobe swap. It has a few benefits that I think might answer that question.

  1. It simplifies my wardrobe choices for one of the busiest time of year. When I know each piece works with all the other pieces in my closet, I have fewer choices to make and dressing gets simpler.
  2. I know that no matter the weather that day, I have something I can wear comfortably. We live near Nashville and the weather can be mid 60s one day, and in the 30s the next. Having choices that are seasonally appropriate but still look festive is a total win in my book.
  3. It eliminates the “I have nothing to wear” syndrome we all face this time of year. Whether it’s a Christmas party invitation, an impromptu pot luck dinner, dinner out with friends, or an outdoor walk through Bethlehem event, I know I have something I can wear that suits the occasion and feels festive, too.
  4. It keeps spirits bright. Let’s be honest, we don’t always feel festive this time of year. We get busy and there are more than a couple stressors. Wearing something that feels like Christmas makes the season a little more joyful. Having a capsule wardrobe where everything can be made to feel festive makes this task easy and simple.

I hope you’ll try this wardrobe swaps challenge. Even if it leaves you with only a handful of outfits, wearing them on repeat throughout the month will simplify your dressing routines, you’ll get more life out of your seasonal clothing, and you’ll be cheery and bright throughout the month!

xo, Billie

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