The Styled Life

#21: Smart Holiday Style: Making Your Wardrobe Work for Festive Events

• Gulinka

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In this episode of The Styled Life Podcast, I share practical strategies for festive season styling without buying a whole new wardrobe. Drawing from my styling expertise, I reveal how to reimagine existing pieces for holiday events while avoiding common festive fashion pitfalls.

Key points covered:

  • How to view your wardrobe through a festive lens
  • Simple outfit transformations using accessories
  • The power of metallic, sparkly, and textured pieces
  • Sustainable approaches to festive dressing
  • The confidence to repeat outfits
  • Common festive styling mistakes to avoid
  • Budget-friendly alternatives like renting and second-hand shopping

I emphasise that festive style doesn't require constant new purchases. By thoughtfully restyling existing pieces and making strategic accessory choices, you can create celebration-worthy outfits from your current wardrobe.

Remember, the best place to start your festive shopping is in your own wardrobe. With creative styling and thoughtful accessories, you can transform everyday pieces into holiday-ready outfits.

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Remember, developing your personal style should empower you, not stress you out. Join me each week as we explore the transformative power of personal style together!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Starred Life Podcast, where personal style meets self-development. I'm Galinka, your personal stylist. Each week, we'll explore the transformative power of style, helping you ditch the wardrobe overwhelm and discover your authentic self through style. Whether you're looking to refresh your look or completely reinvent yourself, you're in the right place. Let's unlock your style potential together.

Speaker 1:

Today's episode is all about styling for the festive season. Now, I know it can be such a busy time in terms of family events, social events, work, christmas parties and planning for that Christmas family holiday, and I know a lot of my clients can feel a little bit overwhelmed in terms of finding things to wear for all those different events. So today's episode is all about helping you reimagine your wardrobe for the festive season. As you already may know, I love wearing what I already have, and this is something that I am deeply passionate about, because I think we should all have wardrobes that we actually wear, so we're not just buying pieces and hanging them up and not reaching for them. So, when it comes to the festive season, I believe that you don't have to go out and buy festive outfits all the time. I think having some festive pieces that you can wear year after year is fantastic, but you can actually reimagine your existing wardrobe in a festive way, so I'm going to give you some tips and tricks on how to do that. Now, the first tip I have is, when you walk into your wardrobe, have a look at it from a festive point of view, so see if you have any pieces that are sparkly maybe they have sequins, any metallic pieces would work well as well, or even pieces that are in festive colors. Now, it doesn't have to be red and green. It can be a festive color in terms of a beautiful yellow or a dark burgundy, something where you feel like it reflects that festive holiday cheer. For example, if you have a summer dress, because here in Melbourne in Australia, it is hot during our Christmas period so I'm going to be talking to both summer and winter, because I know some of you are in the Northern Hemisphere but if you had, say, a summer dress, you could style it with some metallic accessories, whether that be a metallic sandal or a metallic bag. So already you're making a base outfit feel a bit more festive. Now, if you are in a cooler region, you might go for something such as a scarf that feels a little bit more festive, or even something like a velvet blazer, because that's going to give you a bit of texture and a bit of difference in your outfit as well.

Speaker 1:

I also love the incorporation of festive jewelry. Now, festive jewelry doesn't have to be expensive. You can go and buy some beautiful Christmas ornamental earrings that are a little bit of fun and again, it adds that festive cheer to your outfit without having to go and buy a new set of clothes. I also love going into my existing jewelry collection and seeing if I have any sparkly pieces in there. So it could be a crystal earring or a sparkly necklace that adds a little bit of pizzazz to the outfit. So have a look in your wardrobe and see if you have any metallic accessories whether it be a metallic bag or a beautiful metallic sandal, some texture that you can add, whether it be velvet or a silk scarf and, finally, any sparkling accessories such as a beautiful crystal earring. So I'm going to give you some simple outfit transformations based on a capsule wardrobe. So hopefully you already have some of these pieces, but please don't feel like you need to go out and buy these pieces just to make these outfits work.

Speaker 1:

It's all about reimagining some of these pieces and thinking about whether you have something that is a little bit like it or an alternative that you can use for that piece. Now, the first combination is a simple black dress with a metallic bag and some statement earrings. Now, this is going to transform a simple black dress outfit into something a little bit more festive. The next combination is my favorite, which is jeans and a white T-shirt, and you can make this outfit feel a bit. The next combination is my favorite, which is jeans and a white t-shirt, and you can make this outfit feel a bit more festive by adding a velvet blazer and a festive clutch. Now, tailored pants is something that I love in my wardrobe and I wear a lot casually. Now you can team this up with a silk cami and a sparkly cardigan, and there you have it a festive outfit. And finally, a silk slip skirt with a knit and a festive sparkly brooch can also be a fantastic look. So you can see how, with these outfits, you may have these in your wardrobe already, and it's just about adding that finishing touch to make it feel a bit more festive.

Speaker 1:

Now, if you do want to go and buy some of these pieces, I do recommend going down the secondhand route first, because you can find some really fantastic pieces in the pre-loved market. So some easy accessory swaps that you can do on a budget is adding a festive headband or even a ribbon in your hair to again give that festive feel. Even switching out your everyday bag for a metallic clutch or metallic crossbody bag Again adds that level of festivity to your outfits. And finally, any shoes where you have a basic shoe, you may want to swap it out for a metallic shoe or one with embellishments. Even so, if you follow me at Style by Galinka, you will know that I am a serial outfit repeater. Now, this is something that I had to get used to because I had this mindset of having to buy a new piece for every single event. Now this is something that I don't do anymore.

Speaker 1:

I love to outfit repeat and I love that about my wardrobe, because I have pieces in my wardrobe that I want to re-wear over and over again, and it's about maximizing your wardrobe and not just having pieces in your wardrobe that you just end up hanging there and never wearing. So for me, outfit repeating during the festive season is something we all should be doing, and just making those simple swaps whether that be an accessory or a bag or a shoe, just to make that outfit feel a little bit more different, a bit more fresh. But again, it's the same outfit, but you've just made some tweaks to make it feel a bit more different. It doesn't matter whether you repeat an outfit or not and no one's going to notice. And even if they do, it doesn't matter. And I think for me that was where I got my liberation from, in a sense, because I always used to feel like people would notice if I wore the same thing over and over again. And if they do, it doesn't matter in the end anyway. And if they do, it doesn't matter in the end anyway.

Speaker 1:

Now, if you do want to wear a new outfit for your occasions, then consider renting the outfit, because not only are you going to save money, because sometimes that outfit may be just a once-off occasion outfit, so you're not having to invest the money to only wear it once or twice, but renting can be a fantastic way to save a bit of money as well. Also, secondhand clothing for the festive season is a fantastic idea. Not only are you sharing your love of fashion with others by re-wearing and reusing pieces, but it's just a fantastic way to save a bit of money during the Christmas period too. I recently added a beautiful silk dress pre-loved into my wardrobe and I got it for an absolute bargain and it has some metallic stars through it. It is black and navy. However, the metallic stars make it feel a bit more festive, and I can see myself wearing this dress during the festive season, but also casually as well, by just swapping out the shoes for some sandals, or even just another event, but wearing maybe some black sandals as opposed to metallic accessories.

Speaker 1:

I also want to share some of the common style pitfalls that I see during the festive period, and hopefully it will help you avoid them. The first one is panic buying. Now we've all done this where we know we have an event coming up and we rush to the nearest shopping center and we're trying to find an outfit that will fit that occasion. Now what ends up happening is that we buy something that may not be aligned to our personal style, we'll only wear once and we won't get the cost per wear out of. So starting with your actual wardrobe and thinking about how you can reimagine the pieces you already have will really help with that, because before you go and rush to the shops, you'll look in your own wardrobe and shop there first.

Speaker 1:

The other pitfall can be choosing pieces that are not comfortable. Now, comfort is one of my style words and for me, comfort is one of the most important factors when it comes to an outfit. So, before you go to the event, do the sit test and see if it is comfortable to sit in for a long period of time. Make sure that you wear comfortable shoes, because, for me, I would not want to be standing in uncomfortable heels for five or six hours straight. So making sure that your feet are comfortable is really important. And thirdly, making sure that you have those layering pieces, such as a scarf or a cardigan or something that you can quickly put on if the weather does turn.

Speaker 1:

And finally, over-accessorizing. Now, I know I've talked a lot about different accessories, but we can definitely overdo it as well. So think about your outfit as creating balance in your outfit. So you always want to make sure that you've got a hero piece sparkly statement necklace. You may want to keep your clutch less sparkly and less metallic, because what's going to happen is your sparkly necklace is going to compete with your clutch. So having that one hero piece for an outfit can help just balance the whole outfit out.

Speaker 1:

I hope this episode has helped you going into the festive season and just remember the best place to shop first is your own wardrobe, and I'm sure that you have some amazing pieces already that you can restyle for the festive season. I hope that you have a beautiful week and I look forward to seeing you next week. Bye, thanks for tuning in to the Styled Life podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review. Join us every Tuesday as we continue our style journey. Remember great style is personal, powerful and always evolving. Until next time, stay stylish and true to you.