What to wear for a stylish Christmas Day
There’s a lot to prepare ahead of Christmas: decorations, presents, food, sleeping arrangements, family politics…. Along with planning outfits.
A festive get-up has some serious gymnastics to do, with activities ranging from cooking a three-course meal to playing with kids on the floor, to a festive walk and perhaps drinks with neighbours, all whilst looking camera ready. But whether you go for all-out glam, or for cosy comfort, make sure you feel fabulous. After all, it’s a long day.
Pyjamas for presents
Many of us start off the day – especially if little children are around – opening presents in our pyjamas. Which means that you might want to put some thought into your bedtime attire. “Christmas morning always starts with my three children piling into our bed, dragging their stockings,” Emily Campbell, creative director of the nightwear brand If Only If, says.
Her sons will be in her red gingham pyjamas, while she and her daughter will be in matching gowns. For those who prefer PJs, Desmond and Dempsey do beautiful, flattering sets in vibrant prints.
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Going glam
The stylist Sarah Corbett-Winder admits she takes “any excuse to dress up, and so Christmas Day is when I go out all out.” For visiting her husband’s parents in Wales, she’s planning a midi green velvet dress with ruffled sleeves and Kiki McDonough necklace that she’s hoping might be under the tree. “I know I’ll be the most glammed up, but I embrace that.” She will be in flats, not heels: “I tend to be on my feet a lot, cooking and generally rushing between children”, and ready to pull on the wellies for the post-turkey walk.
“I’m that committed to my outfit,” she laughs. Natasha Finch, co-founder of Beulah London, is going similarly glam in the country. “I’ll be in Norfolk with my husband’s family; I’ll be wearing a silk velvet dress with some Penelope Chilvers boots for comfort,” she says.
How’s this for an ingenious cost-cutting idea? Designer Florence Dowley, founder of Florrie London, and her sister are identical sizes, so often share clothes. This Christmas they’ve bought “an olive-green Victoria Beckham dress. The fabric is slightly shiny which adds to the Christmassy feeling.” One will wear it on Christmas Eve, the other on Christmas Day. Dowley will team it with her Roro Mules in black satin “to add some sparkle, plus they’re so comfortable I can wear them all day,” along with red nails and vintage jewellery.
If you want to cut costs further, Victoria Prew, founder of Hurr, recommends renting a statement outfit: “it’s a great opportunity to wear something fabulous for one day without investing.” This year, she’s renting a burgundy Tove dress.
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Black out
For Pip Durell, founder of With Nothing Underneath, Christmas Day is “quite formal. We go to church first thing, then it’s a big lunch.” She is planning on wearing her brand’s black Rampling trousers. “The silky drape gives a festive feel, and “as my mother refuses to put the heating on I’ll probably put on a cashmere cardigan, with an YSSO statement earring”. She says the trousers, which she has worn on a flight to New York recently for a work trip, “miraculously don’t crease, so I know that they’ll last the day whether I’m playing on the floor with my daughter or helping with the meal.”
Similarly, black is the preferred option for shoe designer Jennifer Chamandi. She has a Valentino lace and crepe dress in her wardrobe “that sits just above the knee with cap sleeves and a collar and treads the balance perfectly between festive formal and playful thanks to all the little details.” She says that she normally spends her days in flats, but uses Christmas as chance to dress up in heels – and will be in her own brand’s Vittorio slingbacks. “The lace on the sleeves complements the shoes perfectly,” she says.
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Staying cosy
There’s absolutely no festive edict, however, that says you have to go all out. “I don’t typically get all the way glammed up for Xmas as I tend to keep things laid back,” says lawyer and fashion influencer Thandi Maqubela, who will be wearing a belted cashmere cardigan and trouser set. “Given the extent of eating, I won’t wear anything tight, and we have a little boy, so wearing comfortable clothes I can move around in is a must.”
Danielle Windsor, founder of the independent brand YAITTE, is another fan of elevated comfort. “I’ll be hosting the family at home in Chichester, so I’m planning on wearing a knitted dress that I’ve designed, which has a relaxed fit, feels elevated enough for the occasion, and easy to throw an apron over whilst I’m in the kitchen, then throw on knee high boots and an overcoat for a walk in the village.”
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Sticking to a formula
There’s a case to be made for wearing a slightly jazzed up version of your usual wardrobe. “I wear jeans 99 per cent of the time, and they’re what I feel most comfortable in,” says Pia-Vibeke Grace, a midlife content creator. She will be wearing Citizens of Humanity jeans, “with a crisp white tuxedo shirt, statement earrings, a velvet blazer and red lippy,” she says, when visiting her daughter and her partner in the South Downs. “It will be a relaxed Christmas day with lunch and a walk to the beautiful village pub – I’ll probably add trainers and a jumper from Wyse.”
For the florist Willow Crossley, it’s a jumper and skirt. She will be spending the day with her sister-in-law, Corbett-Winder, “who always looks another level fabulous, so no pressure.” She’s planning to pair an Alex Gore Brown ruffled cashmere jumper already in her wardrobe, with “my satin red mini from H&M with tiny bows, and a pair of satin flats from Loeffler Randall with huge bows on. I’m basically coming as Minnie Mouse.”
Entrepreneur Trinny Woodall is going down a similar route for her Christmas day. “I’ll be sparkly and comfortable with a silver COS jumper tucked into a sparkly skirt I got twenty years ago,” she says. She is keeping her makeup low-key too. “I’ll use my Trinny London Everyday Chic gift set; it’s just three products but makes you look polished in minutes.”
Few are going quite as casual as fashion content creator Kelly Eastwood: “Home is Kenya, so I take a tin of Quality Street in my hand luggage and swap novelty sweaters for bikinis,” she says. We can but dream…
