Going For The Gold: Elegance In December Holidays

Can one have an elegant wardrobe for the holidays and still be on the Good-For-Planet-Earth road of slow fashion (look for well-made 2nd hand/make-it-yourself/buy from local designers or producers)? See what you think after the looks below.

In getting ready for a holiday get-together, casual or dressy, I’m inclined to pick silk, velvet, or beaded fabrics–and spice things somehow with gold. For this post, because I just love to take a pant look and make it super elegant, I’ll just feature ideas with pants.

Look #1: Casual Elegance

This is an Asian inspired theme, perhaps for a holiday causal get-together. I picked a satin over-blouse (found at Goodwill). I also have on a beaded and knitted silk top (Goodwill) under my shirt. I’m wearing some of my favorite pants (ditto Goodwill). These will be cloned when they wear out–I’ll make a pattern from them–so I can keep wearing them anew.

To accessorize I’ve chosen Gorgina Herrera’s MCK’s Les Racines Roots Medallion Necklace, a Carlos Falchi Fatto A Mano bag (eBay), and suede lace up flats by Candies Crazin lace up Gilly flats (Kohls).

Look #2: Vintage Hoari Statement

Have you ever thought about wearing a second hand Haori from Japan for a unique fashion statement? I have three that I have collected from eBay and always enjoy wearing them. This one is in a Shibori technique: when certain parts of the fabric are protected from the dying process. The maker of this one artfully left plant and leave images.

Other items in this look are black Caslon jeans from Nordstrom’s, a burgundy ChiChi layering top, Nine West burgundy suede and jeweled flats, and my Victoria Sling (merlot color not longer available) bag by Kansas City’s fabulous bag designer Dolyn Bags.

Look #3: Texture, Color & Bling

Talk about pattern and texture mixing! This jacket has it all! From Savers (a USA chain of thrift stores), I’ve had it since September and it has been perfect for the holidays. The black Mango jumpsuit (I’ve lost count how many times it has been on here) came from Poshmark. My Judith Leiber belt is from The RealReal.

I love this Judith Leiber belt! When I wear it, all my other jewelry are kept low key because this one sort of blasts it out of the park as far as bling.

The simple gold Asian inspired necklace/bracelet/earring set came from the Boston Museum of Art gift store. It was a very nice Christmas present from Michael some years ago. I will never cease loving these pieces. Some things are forever classic.

The clutch is from one of my favorite non-profits, Lions in Four, an amazing Kansas City based organization.

I really like my Jones New York Christie Suede pumps and wear them often. They are suede and in a open bootie style.

Look #4: Silky Brocade Metallic

For a bit, I thought this eBay sourced Juliana Collezione (eBay) was one of those “bad buys”. There were so many things I liked about this piece but I couldn’t find anything in my closet that went with it. I really liked the green and gold brocade fabric, the silk/rayon content, the amazing amount of piping, plus it was made in America. So it hung lonesome for a long time.

Last fall, I accidentally solved the problem when I made a pair of silk dupoine pants for Kansas City Fashion Week. The pants were created to pair with a up-cycled silk Sari (seen HERE), but they went perfectly as well with the green brocade jacket. I just had to add my dark gold metallic heels by Madeline, a gold metallic knitted top (Goodwill), and the Lions In Four clutch.

Look #5: Bling With Palazzo

I really fell for this Chico bolero sweater when I saw it at a Salvation Army store. Still, it was a bit pricey considering it was in 2nd hand setting. I took a couple of strolls around the store thinking about it. It looked like it had never been worn. I loved all the bling. I figured I had enough to wear with it from my closet…so I said yes!

(I might note here that this photo brought up some interesting conversations via Instagram about expectations. If I had seen this same sweater at an actual Chico’s shop, I would have snatched it up without even thinking. But because this obviously never worn sweater found itself at a charity shop, I had trouble plunking down the cash. Same sweater but with a completely different mind set.)

I chose my vintage gold silk with beads and sequins Escada blouse that I found on eBay in the early 2000’s. My Palazzo pants were made by me from a now discontinued Donna Karen Vogue pattern.

I carried out the gold theme with my vintage Rodo clam bag (eBay and Poshmark) which can be a clutch/chain bag (you can recess the chain to the inside if you want) and as Thursday, my dark gold metallic heels by Madeline.

Sourcing on the 2nd Hand Market

Signe of Use Less just came out with a wonderful new video talking about shopping and the European 2nd hand scene. As usual, she is very inspiring.

A Little Extra-December’s Golden Gala

In early December, Michael and I attended a fund raiser gala for Rightfully Sewn, a non-profit dear to my heart. Although not really a holiday function, for this fabulous gala we were able to mostly wear thrifted quality, made-it-myself, and locally made & designed.

Michael’s tux is a wool Brooks Brothers 2nd Loved that I found (eBay) a couple of years ago (when we attended our local PBS Downton Abby celebration, written about HERE.) His silk bow tie is my own pattern made after much trial and error from black silk scraps in my fabric stash. Also from the stash is his pocket square cut from old silk charmuese to a 10″ x 10″ square, hand hemmed, and then hand stitched a running stitch with black silk thread along the edges.

My gorgeous top is designed by one of the honorees of the event, Sarah Nelsen. I found the floor length velvet skirt at Salvation Army.  It was a size 4 but I managed to size the waist up to fit me. This vintage Rodo clam clutch has been on here so much because, well, I think it is one of the most beautiful bags I own.

No one wears gloves these days but I decided it was about time to start. These vintage beaded and sequined cotton ones were found on eBay a few years ago. I think people were just surprised to see them: I got a lot of compliments! I definitely recommend wearing a pair of gloves if you want to make a style statement.

That wraps it up for this week. Thank you for stopping by. I’ll have another blog bit in two weeks. We’re taking a little break for a couple of weeks and will be back for January’s 2nd Loved 1st Friday Linkup.

You are certainly welcome to leave a comment or two or three. I love to hear from you.

I link up with some great blogs every week. To see who they are go HERE.

Husband Michael gets credit for the photos (except the last courtesy of Rightfully Sewn) and does a bit of editing from time to time.

Again, thanks for stopping by. Take care……..

Now it’s time for my 2nd Loved 1st Friday blurb!

December’s 2nd Loved 1st Friday Linkup will stay open until December 31st.

Any post on a blog, Instagram, Facebook or the like can linkup to this style celebration. If you can copy and paste the URL in the Linky box, you are good to go!

One item is quite OK—a hat, skirt, pants, shoes, purse, or a piece of jewelry.  That item (or items) can be from a thrift shop, eBay, consignment shop, vintage boutique, one of the online consignment shops such as Poshmark or The RealReal–or even something a friend gave you because they didn’t want it anymore.

When you do post, I would appreciate a description about your 2nd Loved item (or items), what type of shop you found it and what drew you to it. Tell as much or as little as you want. To be featured in my collage, which I will put on Instagram along with your links, you have to say what item is second loved. That is a “have to”.

If you have never participated in a linkup before, no fear. Go to Linkup 101 guide that is found on my 2^nd Loved 1^st Friday linkup page (also found at the top in the tab section).

Just click the frog below to link up and join the fun. Even better, you can find some great new creative bloggers.

Follow my blog with Bloglovin