SHINE BRIGHT | 4 Fun New Ways to Dress Up This Holiday Season

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

December has arrived and here we are: officially in the thick of it. We're about to embark on a month-long bingefest of eating and drinking and general merry-making. And while you might be tempted to throw on your flannel onesie, snuggle up in your mermaid blanket and just call it a day, remember that 'tis the season for dressing up, too. I mean, other than summer, is there any time of year more social than December?

You'll be out grabbing gifts with your fellow shoppers, fuelling up at brunches with big men dressed in red, sipping cocktails with your co-workers and fêting all things festive. And then there's all that time with your family - from Christmas recitals to epic full-day feasts. Your flannel onesie is not going to impress your mother-in-law. You are better than your flannel onesie...

SEE 3 MORE PERFECT HOLIDAY OUTFITS HERE...

FÊTE SET | Our Holiday Party Fashion Edit

via Saint Society

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Here's the thing about mid-November: we know what's about to hit us. We know that before too long (if we're lucky), our calendars will start to overflow (if they haven't already). We know that between coordinating family and friends and co-workers, managing recitals and get-togethers and dinners, and somehow fitting the joy of the season in there somewhere, the next month is guaranteed to be cray.  

While flying by the seat of one's snowpants is highly encouraged this time of year, a wardrobe that's ready to party will stylishly set you up for whatever invites might come your way. Pick up a proper topper now and that Baileys and Sleigh Ride soirée will be one for the books. You can't control what Betty in accounting does on the dance floor, but a perfect party dress will guarantee you Best Dressed at your corporate Christmas party. Sequined pants will go swimmingly with your Ugly Christmas Sweater while festive red kicks will look all kinds of lovely at your family Christmas dinner. 

And, should you prefer to decline the invites and opt instead for a shopping party for one, this list should come in handy, too. After all, party invite or not, who doesn't need a sparkly sequin box clutch, amirite?

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FALL '16 FASHION | 5 Fall Trends You'll Want to Start Wearing Now

Gorgeous girl Teegan Williams via Instagram

Originally posted in The CLOSET

When it comes to fashion, there's no season more exciting than fall. While the cooler weather and return to routine can be tough little pills to swallow, the promise of a new wardrobe makes it all totally bearable. Scoff. A new wardrobe you say? Um girl, I can't afford a whole new wardrobe you say? Keep reading. Updating your wardrobe for the new season is a lot less spendy than you might imagine. If you're armed with the basics (and if you've been reading this blog for awhile, you've got those covered), all you need to do is add a few key new-season updates into the mix. 

This fall, I've fallen hard for 5 pretty updates that I plan on wearing starting, um, now...

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ONE & DONE | 35 Dresses We Can't (& Won't) Wait to Wear

A floral + striped frock star from RW&CO.

Originally posted in The LOOK

There's something that happens once you have kids. Okay, there are a lot of things that happen once you have kids. But specifically, there's this thing regarding invitations. In my early 20's, I'd get invites to weddings and be like, 'Awww, seriously? Another wedding??' I'd look at my summer calendar and all of my weekends would be completely booked up with wedding after wedding which a) got very expensive, hence taking away all the money I'd been saving for fun things like shoes (but what should have been a down-payment on a house) and b) took away all the precious time I could have been spending at a friend's cottage or at the beach or going to clubs. When you're young and single, you get invites to fun parties all the time and you can't possibly appreciate it. Or at least I didn't...

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FROCK STARS | These Fall Dresses Are Giving Us Serious Feels

Chiara Ferragni at NY Fashion Week SS16 - via Laia Magazine

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

I'm all for equality. As a full-time working mom, I feel I can do it all. Or at least most of it all. Or 'most of it all' 'some of the time'. When I remind my husband to be chivalrous, he jokingly gives me the 'but you're so capable' speech. 'I know you can open up your own car door, so why would I do it for you?' And he's right. As a 21st century woman, I can take out the garbage, pump my own gas, and bring home the bacon. And if a return to chivalry means a return to the life most women lived throughout history, I'll take 2015, please. 

Still, there are times when I just want to feel like a girl. I love to put on makeup. I'm inexplicably drawn to sparkles and shoes. I love when my husband brings me flowers, when he covers my eyes during a scary scene on HBO, and yes, even when he holds open the car door for me. And while I totally wear the pants in our family (obviously), I just love wearing dresses. It's not that guys can't wear dresses. But most don't. And so when I put on a pretty dress and a pair of strappy heels, I feel like a woman. 

Summer might be over but that doesn't mean you have to put away your dresses for the season. I've rounded up the prettiest new dresses in stores, perfect for wearing bare-legged on warmer days, or with opaque black tights, sleek boots, and a cozy cardigan or tailored blazer when we get into single digits later on. 

Scroll through the thumbnails below for the fall dresses that'll give you serious girl power this fall...

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