How To Wear Red And Green Without Looking Like Your Aunt Mildred – Holiday and New Year Party Fashion Advice
A few little ensemble tweaks to make your holiday spirit shine
When it comes to getting that holiday spirit into your wardrobe, dressing the part can seem like a chore. However, there are some ways to get red and green into your ensemble, or make red and green your whole ensemble, without breaking out the light-up Christmas tree sweater that your grandmother gave you two years ago. Whether you’re just trying to sneak in the red and green, or going to go all out, there are always ways to make your Christmas party ensemble both seasonable, and snazzy.
For all you minimalists out there, there are a variety of little things you can do to enhance either your accessories or makeup to show that you’re ready for the holiday party. For makeup, you can use a bit of subtle green eye shadow, –something with sparkle, preferably, –and some red lipstick, with some fine glitter, not the customary metal flakes, more of a shimmer instead. For jewelry, you can sneak in a mixture of rubies and emeralds, using small stones on earrings, and necklaces for subtlety, and elegance. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, and have no allergies, you tuck a sprig of holly, with berries into your updo. If you do have allergies, choose faux holly, or even a poinsettia blossom for your hair, whether real or faux. As a small tip, faux poinsettias don’t wilt or droop halfway through the night.
If you’re going to go for your entire outfit, unless you’re fair-skinned, and blonde, a bright, true-red dress probably isn’t your best move. The same goes for dresses and skirts as goes for jewelry. For dress fabrics, deep red velvet, or deep emerald velvet are excellent for two reasons; they’re stylish, and warm. Red and green sequins can kind of throw too much of that “old lady” look into your outfit. A crushed velvet, deep ruby, or emerald gown, whether slinky, or full-skirted can be the perfect thing to set off your holiday ensemble.
If you’re going to go with the red dress, go be sure to match it with green accessories; a small green handbag, with faux emerald stones, for example, deep green toned shoes, whether slippers or high heels, depending on the cut of your gown or skirt, and green or emerald jewelry. The same goes vice versa, if you’re going to choose a dark green dress, choose red accessories that are going to bring your holiday ensemble together, and set you apart from the crowd.
Lastly, depending on how formal the gathering is, and how brave you are, if you plan on pulling off the entirely red, or entirely green dress, or blouse and skirt, (don’t try a red blouse and green skirt unless you’ve found something that really works; the results tend to be disastrous) look for red or green satin opera gloves. They can make for a beautiful ensemble, and set off both colours expertly. If you have the time, look around for them in stores online, or, if you know of any, in formal dress shops, or boutiques.