A Week in Outfits: Home for the Holidays
Regardless of the cheer all around, the holidays can be tough for many reasons. For the next few days, we'll be sharing thoughtful ways we get through it, from embracing time alone to dressing for comfort and perfuming ourselves in strength. Next up, Olivia Gündüz-Willemin and Raquel Reyes discuss dressing for the season, clinging to comfort for everything from everyday occasions to the big family dinner. For more in the series you can read here!
All photos by Raquel Reyes and Olivia Gündüz-Willemin in their respective settings.
“Holiday dressing shouldn’t come at the cost of a sweater you’ll only wear one day a year, or even anything that doesn’t make you happy to wear the entire winter.”
The holidays are without a doubt one of the most sartorially pressing times of year. Outfits required for all sorts of occasions, be they friendsgivings, work parties, family gatherings, or even a quiet night at home. Of course there’s also the implied aesthetic — no matter what you wear the rest of the year, the holidays can feel like they carry a dress code, the requirement to look cheerful and sparkly at all times. This can be a source of pleasure for some of us, with brightness counteracting depressing weather and hectic stress, but it can also be hard if that’s not exactly your style (or even if it is, with the added expectation of maintaining or exceeding your usual levels of glamour). So what do we do?
Whether staying close to home or visiting friends and family afar, holiday dressing shouldn’t come at the cost of a sweater you’ll only wear one day a year, or even anything that doesn’t make you happy to wear the entire winter. The key for us is keeping our style intact, adding holiday elements in colors we love, and staying comfortable, always. Following our usual traditions around days off and weekends away, Editor-in-Chief Olivia Gündüz-Willemin and Creative Director Raquel Reyes talk fashion at home for the holidays, pulling from our own wardrobes to achieve looks for multiple festive occasions.
RAQUEL: How would you describe your typical holiday season style? Is it different from past years? I find that I wear a lot of seasonal colors year round, I guess you could call them... deep reds and greens, cream, navy. While I wear neutrals at other times to balance them out, the easiest way for me to look festive is to eliminate some of that and wear the festive tones head to toe. I also add a lot of my more shiny accessories to the mix on a more frequent basis; costume jewelry, lots of gold, a fancy shoe — elements I’d usually use to elevate a simpler outfit become the cherry on top of a suddenly louder look.
Like I’m usually pretty elaborate but my Christmas mood specifically feels like I’m essentially aiming to make my Christmas tree proud.
OLIVIA: My holiday style always feels like it’s my favorite style: cozy knits, warm colors, soft velvets, and just a bit of sparkle. It’s not hugely different to my cold weather style, but I do find myself fitting in more fair isle knits in December.
I find embracing all of it and letting a few more beads and paillettes into my wardrobe make the season all the more festive and add some light to what are literally the shortest days of the year. Plus, I think what you said about making your Christmas tree proud is always a fun feeling.
RAQUEL: I also find that I don’t have as many “party” plans as others so I more often than not end up wearing these looks to the grocery store or down to the coffeeshop, or even quiet evenings at home if I’m mixing drinks and cooking a favorite meal. I hate a good look going to waste. Do you dress festively everyday or just on special occasions?
OLIVIA: Definitely every day of the season. I spend a lot of time sitting in waiting rooms these days, whether I’m going to see my physical therapist or accompanying my grandmother to the doctor, and I feel the adding a sparkle or two to my outfit (and definitely head to toe knits) makes the experience a more positive one.
I got myself a pair of sparkly bow earrings earlier this month, and I’ve basically been wearing them every day for the most mundane occasions, and they’ve just made me feel like every moment is fun. Funnily enough, I even find I dress up more on those occasions or if I’m staying in town than when I go to my actual holiday events. My husband’s family is very understated, and I always feel like I need to mute things down when we go to visit for the holidays.
RAQUEL: I know what you mean, I’m always the more outgoing dresser at family get-togethers; I find nowadays when visiting with, I’m more inclined to tone it down. As of now I’m staying put for the first time in a few years, but typically we’d drive upstate and spend the week with family there. For the most part this means lounging indoors with pets and babies — everyone spends the bulk of it in loungewear, but I always bring an extra few outfits for dinner and the odd chance of leaving the house.
OLIVIA: Loungewear is my favorite thing in the world. I love leggings, and more often than not I’m either wearing tweed or velvet ones at this time of year. They’re comfortable and warm and with boots and long sweaters, always there to save the day.
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EN PRÉLASSE
loungewear — for cozy things like watching movies and melting into the sofa
OLIVIA: Loungewear is basically all that matters to me this winter. I used to live in skirts and dresses, and I still feel most myself when in them, but finding myself at physical therapy almost constantly and needing to put rest, relaxation, and all kinds of self-care into the rest of my routine as much as possible to combat my chronic anxiety, I’ve traded a couple of my skirts in for luxe leggings that allow me to look pulled together while also being very comfortable. Unsurprisingly, this translates into the holiday season for that guiltless time spent melting into every soft surface.
Consequently, I’ve also gotten very into pajamas over the past couple of years, building a collection of ones that I love and feel both comfortable and pulled together in. Through this, I’ve also built a small collection of holiday pajamas. Lounging about with warm drinks and reading for hours or sitting around with loved ones watching black and white films is my favorite part of the holidays, and so I decided at some point in the past couple of years that I might as well dress for it. We aren’t a pajama averse family – I remember one point last year my mother-in-law caught me and my husband watching Home Alone still in our pajamas on Christmas morning and she was horrified, but for me, guilt-free hours spent in pajamas is the coziest thing about the holidays.
RAQUEL: I don’t own a holiday-specific set of pajamas, but I do have a couple of plaid flannel sleep shirts, which I wear around with some form of bottom for layered warmth. I like an oversized silhouette generally when it comes to loungewear, sticking to oversized button downs and soft, wide leg things, mainly because I like to waft around pretending I’m some sort of old Hollywood actress, but also because it just makes relaxing easier when I don’t have to worry about things tugging or pulling. If I get cold there’s always a throw blanket around, but I usually have an oversized cardigan waiting in the wings too.
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“I DON’T GET OUT OF MY PYJAMAS TILL FIVE IN THE AFTERNOON. THEN I PUT ON A SWEATER.”
when you finally have to dress — casual comfort with a touch of festive color
OLIVIA: I don’t know who it was that convinced me that I had to have outfits for trimming the tree or rushing out to the post office to send off my holiday mail (actually I do know and it was the 2011 J. Crew holiday guide), but for me those outfits all consist of the same: slightly pleated trousers and soft, warm sweaters – preferably in cable knit and preferably in one of my favorite colors, like burgundy.
RAQUEL: Even if I have to get dressed, my goal remains to feel comfortable and myself, but going out with family can also mean I go a little more lowkey. Figuring this out over the years was basically a result of everyone around me being dressed and ready to go in five minutes while I panic dressed and lost my train of thought. I hate making people wait almost as much as I hate being made to wait. So if we’re heading out for lunch or some last minute shopping, I’ll throw on a pair of jeans and a thick knit tee shirt or silky button down (this gingerbread colored one has been a go-to since November), twist my hair into a topknot, and the easiest thing to bring any outfit some glamour, my favorite fluffy coat. This is also not the time for a difficult shoe, so I skip the zippers and buckles and slide on a pair of loafers (which also helps me keep up amongst the holiday crowds, as the shortest and slowest walker).
“You never look as good as when you feel like yourself.”
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THE MAIN EVENT
dinner — safe but interesting enough to distract inquisitive relatives
OLIVIA: While the main holiday event for me used to consist of going to the opera, more often than not now, it consists of very long family dinners spent sitting around the dinner table. Tailored dresses made way for pretty but comfortable skirts and nice tops. This year, my skirt of choice is midi length and black watch tartan – a little holiday without being too over the top, and my top is a slightly-puff sleeved black velvet top that never fails to make me feel good. And that’s what matters, no? You never look as good as when you feel like yourself. Not to be missed of course is an extra pop of color, which comes in the form of red patent leather pumps that I’ve had since I was eighteen.
RAQUEL: An extension of my lifelong mood “pajamas as daywear,” I call this look pajamas as eveningwear. Clever, I know. But it’s not too complicated, really. The last thing I want to feel while seated at a long festive meal is restricted, so my outfit formula for all holiday dinners involves a generously voluminous dress. This particular midi number is a beloved one I’ve worn for a few summers now, but translates to winter beautifully with the addition of a color-coordinated pullover. All together I’m pretty in love with this outfit; the oversized knit making me feel cozy and cocooned, like I could easily transition from dinner table right back to sofa, and the resulting drop waist feels just flapperish enough to actually come across as intentional and decorative. For a twist on sparkle, I’ve gone for a pearl embellished bow instead of the usual necklace and worn my favorite beaded flats.
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ALWAYS PACK A PARTY DRESS (or suit. or robe.)
because you never know
RAQUEL: Sometimes you just need to slip away, for your peace and possibly everyone else’s. Whatever your version, embracing the best of your style while taking back your space makes it all the more secure, like crawling back into your own bed after time away. There’s sneaking off into your room to read in silence, throwing on your favorite sweater, or stepping out onto the porch with a mug of cocoa and your coziest scarf… but my personal favorite escape is hopping in the car and running off to the pub for a pint and welsh rarebit. There’s nowhere like pubs at Christmas, full of tinsel and lights enough for a whole city block, festive wreaths on every window and holiday music warbling quietly in the background. It’s the closest I’ll get to my own Christmas rom-com but it’s more than enough for me. As such, I like to dress for it. Pajamas as eveningwear, part two. I might wear this slip Christmas morning under another giant pullover and slippers, but for a night — or hour, at least — out, I swap the sweater for my favorite silk duster, vintage faux fur collar, and double the sparkle at my toes with shimmering socks and my best gold heels. I’m sure there’s more casual pub looks out there, but after a week of leggings and unwashed hair, a girl’s gotta get her sea legs back.
Olivia Gündüz-Willemin is Editor-in-Chief of The Attic on Eighth. She is dedicated to reading her way through the world and trying to stay as calm as possible.
Raquel Reyes is Creative Director at The Attic on Eighth. She enjoys styling photo shoots, dramatic hair accessories, and old fashioned cocktails.
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