A Dickens' Christmas - Introduction

I love Christmas, and I especially love coming up with outfits around the holidays. If you have been following me for a while, you know I enjoy finding inspiration for my ensembles in all manner of places, from colors in the natural world, like leaves and flowers, to colors and designs in home decor and bathroom tiles. You also know I love using movies and songs around Christmas time to inspire outfits. Last year I used a number of my favorite Christmas carols and songs, some well known and a few that were less popular, to inspire a month of looks that were both somber and understated as well as fun and party ready.

This month I am going to switch from music to movies: from auditory to visual, to inspire my choices for outfits. All my outfits are going to be built around inspiration from a particular character or characters from a Christmas movie. Starting today, and for the next three Tuesdays, I am going to focus on Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. It has long been one of my favorite stories from the Christmas season, but it has also become one of my favorite Christmas movies. On the following Thursday of each of those weeks, I am going to resume my monthly columns, but each outfit will be inspired by a certain character in different Christmas movies, which I will share with each post.

When I think of A Christmas Carol, I don’t usually think about the time period during which it was written, other than to see it as a back drop for the fabulous ghost story that Dickens weaves. This year, it struck me to look at what people were wearing during that time period and for this first post use that as the inspiration spring board for my outfit. These outfits are not meant to mimic a time period or character from the movies, but to simply draw inspiration from which to build an outfit I could realistically wear to work, a holiday party or a show.

When I started looking at 1800’s fashion, I was specifically looking at the dress of Christmas carolers. One of the costumes I saw was a long plaid skirt, a jacket with buttons and a tightly fitted bodice, with a small cape over the shoulders. Bonnets were also worn, typically with a large ribbon tied under the chin to hold the bonnet in place. You can see a “costume” version here.

This gray and black, A-line, plaid skirt is from Christopher & Banks from a couple of years ago. While it looks like a wool blend, it actually is a medium weight knit, making it very comfortable, though not quite as warm, thus the heavy weight black tights. It would look cute with black boots and nude hose as well.

I’ve styled this thrifted, red velvet, Briggs New York blazer on the blog two years ago, for this Christmas outfit. The idea to wear it with a white blouse seemed obvious, so I chose my H & M clearance pinstriped blouse from a few seasons ago. I also wanted to add an unexpected element, so I chose this Pepin brand knit vest. I do not remember where I picked this up, but knit vests are trending right now and they are a great way to add an extra layer of warmth around your core. I like both the unexpected color combination and the textural element it adds.

I picked up this paisley scarf at some thrift store along the way a number of years ago. It looks particularly festive for the Christmas season with its reds and greens, making it the perfect accessory to bring this whole outfit together. Instead of trying to tie a bow, I just did a regular knot.

Since the scarf also had blue in it, I decided to carry my blue, textured clutch.

I wanted to wear a heel rather than a flat boot for this look, so I chose my faux suede Aerosoles. The black shoe with the black tights helps to elongate the leg and wearing tights allows you to show off the shape of your gams without the unsightly varicose veins.

Does this look make you think of Christmas carolers back in Charles Dickens’ time period? Is this something you might wear to work at the office on a chilly winter day? You could easily pair it with a different colored jacket or sweater for a completely non Christmas look.

I hope you enjoy this series and will follow along the rest of the month as we look at more Christmas movie outfit inspiration.

I am including a few shopping links, just for fun. These are affiliate links and come to you at no cost. All opinions are my own.

I hope your December is starting off well.