This winter has flown by so far. In London we are now having our second spell of really cold weather, so the coats and jumpers are out right now. Sometimes it can be hard to dress stylishly and keep warm. I definitely struggle with this sometimes. In between these cold spells there was Xmas which was fairly warm so a great opportunity to crack out the sequins and I also attended some more formal occasions.
Here are my favourite looks so far this winter 2022-23, and I’ve tried to describe some of the key style elements that I feel made them successful. I’ll also add some suggestions for where you can source some similar items – though much of what I wear has been in my wardrobe a while, or came from a local charity shop
Formal wear
I am lucky enough to have attended some formal occasions this year which required me to wear a floor length dress. My go to for long dresses is definitely Quiz clothing. In my opinion its very affordable, perfectly good quality and comfortable at the same time.
Outfits 1 and 3 – are of course the same green satin slip dress from Quiz. The colour is actually quite vibrant more like in the second photo. If you like this particular look then this dress is quite similar and on sale.
Outfit 2 is also a Quiz dress that I picked up new with tags on Vinted. There are a few lovely red dresses available currently, this one is similar.
For both occasions I was needed to be able to cover my shoulders. I felt the green dress worked well with this faux fur brown shrug, black evening gloves, vintage bag and necklace. I was going for a slightly more vintage feel for the whole outfit. With the red dress I decided to stick with one colour, so I bought a shawl from Amazon and added long evening gloves and a red sequin bag from Vinted. For a more toned down look I would probably have gone for black accessories.
I’m planning to write a longer blog post about formal wear giving some guidance about how to dress well and feel at ease at all kinds of occasions. In the meantime however here are some top tips.
Do – find out about the dress code in advance and/or consider googling for images of similar events so you know what to expect
Do – try on your whole outfit in advance, making sure you can walk in your shoes and that they are the right height so that your dress is not dragging on the floor. Also check to make sure your accessories complement your over all look
Do – dress for comfort as well as style. There is no point spending the whole evening having to re-arrange your outfit. Under wear can be key here, make sure your bra and shape wear work with your dress
Do think about what colours and styles suit you. Hold the fabric up to your face, does it wash you out or enhance your features. Does the dress flatter your figure? Does it hold you in where you need to be held in, does it skim over your body rather than accentuate every part?
Don’t – dress too light unless its the height of summer, make sure you have something to cover your shoulders and a warm coat to travel in
Don’t – just go for black automatically as its safe and easy. Don’t forget if its a black or white tie event, all the many people will be wearing black, so if you choose colour you will won’t merge into the background – unless you want to of course.
Semi formal winter occasions
You will probably find that over the winter and festive season there are plenty of occasions when you have the opportunity to dress up more than usual. So whether its a Xmas party, lunch out or any of the big days around Xmas and New Year itself. Here are the semi formal looks I really enjoyed putting together this year
All of these looks would work for an daytime or evening occasion.
Outfit 1 – The first midi dress was what I wore on Xmas day. I got it from the Ted Baker outlet (though I cant find it online unfortunately) and I really like the shoulder pads and flattering wrap style. It is very stretchy which made it a great Xmas day option. It would also be great for a winter wedding, as with its abstract animal style print its not too obviously festive. I have styled it here with a great affordable clutch bag from Matalan.
Outfit 2 – I wore this to a formal lunch. It worked very well as its figure hugging but also figure skimming. I did wear it with some new shape wear from Amazon. I felt slightly restricted but it did cover up the lumps and bumps. This dress was actually a charity shop bargain. So it probably cost me about £5. I paired it with my favourite M & S knee length sock boot and my trusty Coach bag.
Outfit 3 – I wore to a winter party in the run up to Xmas. I really love the square neck and puffed shoulder detail of this top from H&M sale (last year), I find it works well with the check (mini) which is not really too mini and of course the obligatory opaque tights I wear all winter. The studded silver kitten heel boots were from Top Shop
Outfit 4 – I wore this to a pre Xmas birthday drinks. Here I am largely wearing item from Matalan. Of all the affordable festive ranges on offer Matalan really did some up trumps this year for style and comfort. Here I have teamed a black sequin wrap style top with a wrap style faux leather skirt. I found both of these items very flattering. While I’ve probably put away the top now for this year, I will probably wear the skirt again if an occassion arises as it would be relatively easy to dress down. The clutch it also from Matalan and the sandals are as before. The sequin top is still available here and on sale.
Festive looks
This year I actually bought some Xmas jumpers to try on. These have never been my thing but I did find two that I liked, and one which I really liked so I am planning to wear it again next year. I personally think its better to dress these kind of more obvious festive items down to stay on the right side of taste 😉
Outfit 1 – the jumper is from Tesco (Florence and Fred) I had to size up as they did not have my usual size, but I am glad I did as it works much better with a looser fit. Here I’ve teamed it with leggings from Varley, and trainers from M&S, in Outfit 2 – I’ve added a coat and a cross body bag. Outfit 3 also features another Tesco jumper. I really like the pink and red abstract star motif, its not too obvious.
I also had a lovely opportunity to visit central London and admire the beautiful decorations adorning many shops, houses and restaurants in Mayfair. For this occasion I really enjoyed dressing up in my best formal winter coat (Outfits 4 and 6) from Four Seasons, while keeping it casual underneath with dark denim and boots. Finally this Outfit 5 the dress I wore for New Year’s Eve. I only just got into it after the festivities if truth be known, but it worked with some control tights! Its from Matalan and with its classic shape and subtle sequin design I felt it looked more expensive than it was.
Versatile daytime styles
All of the following outfits will work for day to more evening dressing. They can easily be more dressy or less by switching out footwear and accessories.
Outfit 1 – is a Primark find. I do love a denim dress and I feel dark denim is naturally more winter appropriate. What I like about this dress are the additional details, the puff sleeves and diamanté’s buckle in the belt. This makes it easier to wear for a more dressy or evening occasion as well as day time, Here I am styling it with sock boots and an old fur bag which also has some diamanté’s details
Outfit 2 – I have teamed some faux leather shorts from Primark with a cream roll neck from Zara and a tan Aviator-style jacket from New Look. The trainers are M&S and I love the muted leopard tones. This is probably mainly a daytime outfit as it is, but you could easily swap out the jumper for a dressier top and add boots for an easy transition to evening
Outfit 3 – This dress from Tesco is definitely the find of the Autumn winter season. I think the cutout detail makes it just a little bit special and more on trend. I was able to wear it in early autumn as well as on colder days. Here its dressed up for a winter lunch with tights and boots. If you wanted to dress it down you could easily add trainers and a casual jacket. I can’t find this dress online unfortunately though this longer cream knit dress via Next is extremely stylish.
Outfit 4 – I found this slightly unusual dungaree checked skirt in a local charity shop. I think Zara sizing definitely used to be more generous as this is actually a size small, which seems to be more like a small size 8 these days. Anyway I thought this was fun for a winter/festive outfit and you can easily wear it with your choice of top or jumper depending on the occasion. Here it is styled for daytime with these combat style boots from Office. I really like these as the silver stud details make them a bit more feminine.
