Outfit Inspiration - We Three Kings

I have been listening to Christmas music since I was a toddler. Songs like Jingle Bells, I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas and so many others have been permanently embedded in my brain. There are a few songs that I remember, not so much because of their catchy tunes, but because of the pictures they created in my mind as a young person. We Three Kings is a perfect example of this kind of song.

Over the years We Three Kings became an icon of American Christmas carols. It was originally written by John Henry Hopkins, Jr. in 1857 for a Christmas pageant In New York City. He was the rector of Christ Episcopal Church in Williamsport, PA at the time. The song revolves around the three Magi who came to worship Jesus when He was a small child. You can read that Biblical account in Matthew 1:1-12. If I had more time, I would love to spend a little time discussing these interesting men and the gifts they bring the Christ child, but since this is a fashion post I won’t belabor the point.

You might be wondering, why did I choose this song. While it is clearly a traditional Christmas carol, it wouldn’t necessarily be a favorite of everyone out there. I love the story behind it. For years, these extremely wise men, who were obviously people of influence and wealth, but not necessarily kings in their own countries, studied the stars. They studied history and they may have even studied some version of Messianic prophecy. We can’t really say for sure, what caused them to take up their long trek to Bethlehem, but my imagination says it must have been a pulling of the Holy Spirit that led them to Herod and then to the baby Jesus.

I also love the dichotomy of shepherds on the night of His birth and these upper class men, some days later. It reminds me that we are all able to approach God, not because of our goodness and rightness, but because of Jesus.

I wanted this outfit to exude luxury, not that these wise men had all sorts of money, nor even dressed in a way that would attract attention, but the idea of kings, wise men and worshipping the King of Kings, made me want to dress as thought I was going to see the King myself.

This velvet jacket was a thrift store find. I was watching Merlin, a King Arthur series that was on a few years ago. When I saw this, I thought of Arthur Pendragon in all his finery and I knew I had to have it. I guess I should have taken the lint brush to it, before we took pictures. Ha, ha. I think the gold front closures are so fun. The brand is R & M Richards by Karen Kwong. It is obvious the style has an oriental flavor, which makes it perfect for my wisemen from the east.

At first I was going to go for a monochrome look, and pair the jacket with brown trousers, but then I thought of this Lauren Conrad skirt that I ordered from Kohl’s on clearance. It’s actually too big on me, so I had to safety pin the waist band for our photo shoot, but one of these days I will take it in. I thought the gold pleats and flowy feel made for a more luxe look.

In thinking about our three wise men, I chose gold to accent the entire outfit. My gold high-lo hemline tee, I got for Christmas last year from my husband. It is Dantelle brand from Marshalls. I tucked it in for this look and paired it with a wide gold belt that I found thrifting.

My jewelry and bag are gold with just a touch of bling. The little clutch with attached chain is also a thrift find.

I’ve worn these thrifted LifeStride brown ankle boots on the blog before and I thought they matched the jacket perfectly.

What would you wear to see a king? If we could afford it we would probably wear something a bit fancier than what I put together. Ha, ha. But that is part of the point of Christmas. The shepherds were able to see the King the night He was born and I’m sure they weren’t wearing their Sunday best. Jesus is happy to have us come as we are.

Today I am not going to include any shopping links, but here is one of the versions of We Three Kings that I like. For some reason I was not able to upload the video, so just click on the link and it will take you to the YouTube page with the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qmrRhVhKuw

Photo credit Rebecca Trumbull.