Holiday Dressing | Join in All the Reindeer Games!
As the holidays approach, the special occasion shopping season begins. Boutiques and malls display bright red dresses; evergreen blouses, pants, and skirts; and a plethora of Santa Claus-printed boxers, socks, and ties. Looking your authentic best at cocktail parties, office parties, family dinners, and lunches with best friends requires serious thought about what to wear.
Tips from a Runway Runaway supermodel on inner beauty and how to dress up for the holidays!
If you are like me, you may have one or two favorite pieces of clothing that re-appear only at this time of year. As I unpack my Christmas sweaters, holly scarves, and jolly ornamental jewelry from their boxes, I feel the season’s spirit of joy.
For me, the light of the holidays is reflected in the glow of gratitude and rebirth. Accordingly, an important gift I can bring to others is the way I show up in the world. My intention, then, is to bring more of my light to the season by wearing the colors and beauty reflective of celebration.
My favorite holiday dress was designed by the Italian designer Alberta Ferretti. I wore it in a fashion show I did in Nashville, of all places. This warm and cozy woolly blanket of a dress is a floor-length, dusty-red, and sage-green plaid. No one I’ve known has ever worn this same iconic dress, and so every year, I put it on as if I am wearing it for the very first time. It always sparks a conversation, inviting others to share in its little story, and to offer their own tales of favorite festive outfits over the years. Such connection and interaction adds dimension to less compelling small talk at parties or other possibly awkward get-togethers.
Who doesn’t want to shine or feel good about themselves at their own office party? To talk about something other than the long shopping mall lines and how much work it is to wrap presents? Dressing with the intention of giving your light to others is a meaningful way of sharing your own inner beauty and style over the holiday season. These inner qualities are illuminated when you are conscious about how you dress and how you show up in the world.
When deciding how to dress for the holidays, ask yourself the following questions:
What qualities or gifts will I bring to the party? (Some examples: joy, elegance, fun, light, romance, and accessibility) How do I want others to perceive me? What experience do I want to have at the event?
Dress according to your inner choices and watch how your wardrobe magically reflects your light and love as you join in all the reindeer games.
Peace, Love and Joy!
Lorelei
This article appeared in LA Yoga magazine December 2014. Image courtesy layoga.com. http://layoga.com/live/style-apparel/holiday-dressing-join-reindeer-games/
