Holiday parties, family gatherings and class celebrations, oh my! As our November and December calendars get increasingly stuffed, putting together festive outfits for the family becomes just another item to cross off the list. Brittany Abajian, the Tampa fashion and style blogger behind Style Me Britt, may have a degree in fashion design, but she says it’s pretty simple to get your family looking on point for the holiday season. She shows off the looks she creates for her son, Zane, 4, and daughter, Nori, 1, on Instagram @stylemebritt_, and she’s sharing her tips and tricks for classic holiday style with South Tampa Magazine.
Shop early
Abajian says this is her No. 1 trick to all holiday shopping. “I know everyone says it’s hard. But if you do everything early, when the holiday comes, you’re not stressed.” Starting early also gives you plenty of time to see what local stores have to offer this year, Abajian adds.
Shop slowly
When you’re building growing kids’ seasonal wardrobes from scratch each year, it helps to buy a little at a time. “When stuff first comes out, you get the best pick, and then you can slowly ease into the wardrobe,” Abajian says.
Avoid the cheese factor
Shopping early and slowly will help you avoid the cringeworthy, unintentionally ugly holiday sweaters your whole family will prefer to forget 10 years from now. “A lot of the time I’ll buy classic pieces that are going to be in style all year long and then play with them… make it fit for that season,” Abajian says.
Pick a color for the whole family
Abajian chooses one color or color palette around which to build holiday outfits for her whole family. Her fiancé and son will rock ties or bowties, while she and her daughter will do similar or matching dresses. Weaving through a similar color theme will make your photos look cohesive, and it’s a tradition you can carry on from year to year.
Practice makes perfect
In the weeks or days before Thanksgiving, Christmas or other big holidays, Abajian will have a sort of “rehearsal” for her kids to try on their holiday clothes. Once they’re dressed, she’ll take their photos like it was the actual holiday to remove one stressor from the day itself. “Sometimes when the day actually happens, it happens so fast you don’t even get pictures of the family,” she says.
For the adults
“I’m loving the floral look for Thanksgiving,” Abajian says. “And you can still have those amber, maroon, burgundy colors.” For Christmas, she opts for a floor-length dress. Even if the dress itself or the event you’re attending isn’t particularly fancy, the drama of the length automatically takes it up a notch.
