What to Wear to a Holiday Party!

I can hardly believe it is December already! Oh, what to wear, what to wear to all the holiday parties, teas, and outings this month! I don't ever remember being invited to so many, but it seems this is the year of lots of them! I'm excited! Last night was the kick off for me and I went to a Christmas tea with 7 of my friends. It was 5pm when I realized I had 20 minutes to freshen my makeup, re-spray my hair, and pick out something festive to wear. I ran into my bedroom, looked in my closet and realized most everything was in the laundry...oops, busy week and just hadn't gotten to it...so, what to wear? I pulled out a new top that still had the tags on it that I was planning to wear for my teen events cause it has kind of "poofy" sleeves, an empire waist (as it seems everything does this season), and has shiny fabric with a bit of glitzy gold....very pretty for a holiday event. I pulled out my jeans and thought I'd wear them with it but then realized I needed to dress it up a little more, so I added brown full slacks and leopard high sandals with it. I then pulled out a cute gold evening bag with beaded handle and a little fluff around the edges. I put a little more makeup on than usual, for evening, and used a little more hairspray. All this to say how important it is to have a few staples in your wardrobe. I know so many of you feel like you have nothing to wear and yet have a closet of full of clothes...right? And you also run to the mall every time you get invited to something because you can't find the right thing in your closet. It's important to have the basics. Some of these include a good evening purse that matches your hair color, or is in your favorite accessory color, gold or silver. Also, you should have at least 2 basic pairs of pumps or sandals for evening or holiday wear. I would suggest having a top in either gold or silver, not cheap looking gold or silver, but buy something in the better women's department that is on sale. This can be a pretty blouse or a knit sweater. Then you can pair this with jeans for a more casual look (and still wear it with your evening sandals or pumps), or you can dress it up with a dressy pair of slacks in winter white, black or tan. These dressy slacks should be in a fabric like velvet, satin, or silk. I have a gold pair of slacks by Reba (yes, McIntire!, you can find her collection at Dillards...great fit, too) and I wear them alot...no, more than alot...seriously, I love them. Anyway, hope this helps a little with your holdiay dressing dilemnas! Would love to answer your questions as to what goes with what, so if you are in need of some advice in the holiday clothing department, post a comment and I'll answer! Love ya, Shari www.ShariBraendel.com