Chanukah

I hope everyone had a great holiday! Our Christmas was really nice and we did a bit of Chanukah celebrating last night. Although I'm Jewish, I always grew up celebrating both holidays, but as I've grown older, our celebrations have evolved. Chanukah sometimes feels like a bit of an after-thought, but we tend to do stereotypically Jewish activities on Christmas Day (i.e., seeing a movie and going out for Chinese food). But given the current political climate, it seems more important than ever for me to be proud of my Jewish heritage and the traditions we keep. I may not be practicing – and I'd always felt like more of a secular Jew anyway – but it's still an integral part of my identity.  So when I saw this new harlequin colorway from Pinup Girl Clothing, I knew it belonged in my closet!

While this dress can easily be associated with winter, it's also very clear that it's the perfect dress for Chanukah. For those wondering about the sizing, I took my normal PUG size (L) for this dress. The size chart suggests that I'm sort of in between an L and an XL, but I actually ended up ordering both and quickly discovered that my regular size was the clear winner. I know some girls received damaged dresses from this batch, but I was lucky and didn't find any flaws of note. Unlike some of my other holiday dresses, this one can – and will – be worn throughout the entire season. I'm excited to style it in other ways, like layering a sweater over it to make it into a skirt!

Outfit Details

Jenny Dress in Blue Ice Harlequin: Pinup Girl Clothing

Menorah brooch: Mom's (similar)

Shoes: Bettie Page (similar)

Sadly, I don't have the rest of this week off from work, but I'm glad it's only a four day week – and that I have leftover latkes in my fridge! :)

Have a great Tuesday!

Poinsettia

Merry almost-Christmas! I can scarcely believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve. The time has simply flown by. I'm not sure what I'm going to wear tomorrow and Sunday yet (I have so many options, after all), but this will be the last yuletide outfit I'm sharing here on the blog. And I think I may have saved the best – and fanciest – for last with this dress from Unique Vintage.

While I've seen other dresses and tops that feature the front cross-straps, I happen to like UV's "Rita" version because the straps don't feel constrictive at all. The material is quite stretchy (once again, a plus for holiday eating), which helps in that regard. Honestly, I may have been able to size down on this dress due to the stretch, but it's not big enough to bother me very much. And of course, I enjoy the fact that this dress has pockets. It's a piece that makes me feel like a million bucks – without the hefty price tag. I decided to pair this dress with my new favorite hair flower from Stardust Dames Boutique, gold heels, and a faux fur I got on eBay last year. Instant holiday glamour!

Outfit Details

Red Rita Halter Flare Dress: c/o Unique Vintage

Poinsettia hair flower: Stardust Dames

Faux fur wrap: similar

Heels: B.A.I.T.

I'll be spending Christmas Eve at my parents' house, doing our usual thing. We tend to make that the more exciting part of the holiday in my family, as it's when we eat the yummiest food and open the bulk of our presents. I think we'll still be doing our Chinese food tradition on Christmas Day, but I'm looking forward to having a more relaxing holiday (I hope). I'm always so interested to find out what other families do for the holidays – what's your favorite family tradition? Whatever you do this holiday, I hope you have a happy and safe celebration (or non-celebration)!

Candy Cane

I know most girls don't want to dress like candy incarnate, but for me, there's nothing better than looking like a human representation of sweet treats. This skirt from Pinup Girl Clothing might actually be one of my favorites; not only is the candy cane striped print irresistible, but it's actually made out of canvas, rather than the normal sateen PUG tends to use. While that might not have been a welcome surprise for some girls, I actually really like it. It feels a lot more wearable to me.

This skirt also runs larger than some of my other Jenny skirts. Since I'd rather have a little breathing/eating room, I don't mind it – but if you're on the smaller side of a certain size, you might want to consider sizing down. Clearly, I had to pair this skirt with the matching candy cane brooch from Erstwilder – yet another piece from their newest holiday collection. I wear one pretty much every day leading up to the holidays!

Outfit Details

Jenny Skirt in Candy Cane Stripe: Pinup Girl Clothing

Harley Top in White: Pinup Girl Clothing

Sprinkled With Love Brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Cropped red cardigan: ModCloth

Shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear (similar)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Frozen

I feel very Elsa-esque in this wonderfully wintery skirt from Unique Vintage. It's very fitting for the weather here too, since we got a ton of snow recently – and temperatures have been staying in the 15-20° range. I really love all of these UV brand skirts; they're especially great for holidays and they hold their shape so nicely. And since winter lasts so long here in Rochester, I know I'll be able to wear this one for months to come.

Although this outfit was totally impractical for getting a Christmas tree, I couldn't resist heading to a local Christmas tree farm for these photos. Sadly, we didn't find a tree that would work for my small space. But we did find a fake white one that looks pretty darn adorable in my living room! I was able to make some headway on cookie baking and present wrapping yesterday, so while I'm sure I'll still feel a bit stressed this week, I'm hoping I'll be able to relax and enjoy. :)

Outfit Details

Winter Kingdom Swing Skirt: c/o Unique Vintage

White Silver Sparkle Angette Top: c/o Unique Vintage

Seasonal Symmetry Snowflake Brooch: c/o Erstwilder

Shoes: vintage (similar)

Oh, and I forgot: in case you hadn't noticed, I dyed my hair! It's more subtle in person, but I really like it a lot. I'm not one to get bored with my hair, but I felt like it was getting kinda dull and listless. I was in desperate need of a cut, but I wanted a little change, too. It had been a LONG time since I'd put any color in my hair. Part of me wishes I hadn't waited so long! It was the perfect holiday pick-me-up.

Have a great start to your holiday week!

Gingerbread

Honestly, is anyone surprised that I have this skirt? It has little gingerbread men and women all over it AND it has pockets. That's definitely a win! I wore this out to dinner and to meet up with some friends last weekend, and it was an instant holiday hit. It also reminds me that I need to bake Christmas cookies with my mom soon. Luckily, the waistband is a bit stretchy to accommodate all of my holiday eating!

Of course, I had to pair the skirt with my matching brooch from Erstwilder. In my opinion, their holiday collections can't be beat. I'm *almost* embarrassed to say that I own about five of their Christmas brooches from last year's and this year's collections. But they're all so good that I'm really not ashamed.

Outfit Details

One Sharp Cookie A-Line Skirt: ModCloth

The Bite Before Christmas Brooch: Erstwilder

White boatneck top: Target

Shoes: B.A.I.T. Footwear

This skirt – and the ENTIRE ModCloth website – is 40% off today as part of their massive holiday flash sale! Just enter the code HAULIDAY at checkout. The sale ends tomorrow morning at 8 am EST, so this is your opportunity to get your last-minute Christmas shopping done (maybe even for yourself)!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Red Velvet

Helloooo, snow! Christmas is but 11 days away, which means I've been severely slacking on my holiday outfit posts – so I'd better get crackin'! I've been meaning to style this luxe velvet dress from Sourpuss Clothing for weeks, but the time really got away from me. Fortunately, it's the perfect Christmas dress. Red velvet is just so quintessentially jolly, and I love that it's stretchy (ideal for big holiday meals!) and has the cute little bow on the bust. I decided to style it in a casual way for this post to prove that I don't always dress to the nines... but I enjoy the fact that this dress would look just as great with a pair of heels as it does with a biker jacket and boots!

I didn't get a tree this past weekend, so finding an artificial one is on my to-do list. I'm thinking I might go for obnoxious, tacky white – but they're difficult to find if you don't want to spend a lot. I still have a few presents to buy (and all of them to wrap!)... plus, I need to bake cookies and watch Christmas movies and go look at Christmas lights and arghhhhh why can't time slow down!? :)

Outfit Details

Velvet Vivienne Dress in Red: c/o Sourpuss Clothing

Jacket: Forever 21 (similar)

Brooch: Deer Arrow

Boots: similar

Hat: similar

Have a great day!