The art of capsule dressing to go from the holiday to everyday

The holiday season is almost upon us. As soon as Halloween is over, a switch happens in your brain and we enter into holiday mode.

Before I talk about how you can go from holiday to everyday, it is important to understand the 3 types of clothing.

Why? The reason is that if you are drawn to dress by outfits and are not able to break away from your current look to create new looks, perhaps you are investing in character or costume pieces.

Types of Clothing

There are three types of clothing - the Basics, the Characters, and the Costumes.

BASICS:

• Solids or fine tweeds.

• Can go anytime, day or night.

• Can be dress up or dress down.

• Need accessories to give them life. They are the most versatile pieces in your closet.

CHARACTER:

• Solids or fine tweeds that have something that calls attention and limits them.

• A Character outfit could also be considered a dress or a suit in a bright color.

COSTUME:

• Items that have limiting and/or contrasting trim limiting accessory options due to the colors in the print or trim.

• Print dresses, jackets and suits.

• A costume can rarely be broken into separates.

• Costumes are found at any level of dressing.

A woman who has a wardrobe built on costume outfits says: I only wear this dress with this pair of shoes and this necklace. She looks at her closet and also says: "I don't have anything to wear."

The magic is to have mostly Basics adding some Character and Costume pieces to expand your mix and match options. This is the art of capsule dressing. You have less but have many more possibilities.

Now let's talk about the holidays. After more than an year without much in-person interactions you may not even know how to go back and dress for "3-D" interactions.

This holiday, do you want something that sparkles, or wear that red dress that you have been dreaming to buy?

Lately, I am letting my imagination fly in my closet and I believe you should to.

I went to my closet, chose some pieces and in a matter of hours I created 3 holiday outfits and 7 everyday looks. If you have your wardrobe built with your color palette, with pieces that fit you perfectly, and reflect your inherent visual universe, you will also be able to be creative with your closet.

Let's start with a red dress. Don't compromise your hue of red. You don't want the color to arrive to the party before you do. You want it to arrive with you!

There are so many hues of red. Find your best.

Accessories will play an important role to bring your party piece to everyday wear. Tights, ankle boots, scarves, and of course that basic piece in your closet to complement the look.

My second experiment was a black and brown jacquard dress from Talbots. It has a nostalgic feeling from the late 50s and 60s and again, it is black and brown, two neutrals that you don't see often together. I used the same accessories from my red dress look - silk brown pumps and a several string gold necklace.

For the everyday looks, I added a very thin second skin long sleeve layer under the dress (they are from Brazil and you can find them on Amazon), black tights, knee high boots, black belt, a scarf, and two jackets - a black knit cropped jacket and a plaid one.

My favorite? The one with the plaid. This is a very complex look and it is part of my inherent universe. I love mixing prints!

My last experiment was with a navy and black tuxedo suit from Caché. The business closed its doors in 2015, so I have these pieces for at least 7 years.

I accessorized with black pointy pumps and an 80s inspired pearl choker. Do you remember Lady Di dancing with John Travolta?

For everyday, I switched the satin black pants for a bootcut jeans, added a silk scarf and my favorite paisley scarf. I tried them with black boots and the black pumps, which is my favorite.

As you can see, if you have a wardrobe built with intention you don't need much to go from holiday to everyday dressing.

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