Let’s face it. I return a lot of what I show you here on Dressed for My Day. I just can’t keep it all. And so, while sometimes it’s like taking candy from a child, I do force myself to return so much of what you see here. But, I do keep some of my favorite items, the ones I really need and can justify keeping for my classic wardrobe. But only a few of the items that I keep actually turn out to be true favorites. And that’s what I’m sharing with you today…my December favorites.
Yes, December is just a little over half way through, and I usually wait until the end of the month to post my favorites. But with Christmas shopping in full force, many of the items I’ve loved using and wearing this month are quickly selling out. So I wanted to go ahead and share my December favorites with you before they all get gone.
Sweater Dress
I actually have the black Donegal cowl neck sweater dress, but I love, love, love this red one. It wasn’t available in my size when I ordered (I have a medium), but it’s been restocked now. Hmm. Anyhow, this dress is truly comfortable and classy. I like wearing it with boots and tights, but you could also wear it with suede or leather heels or flats, as show in the picture above. It runs true to size. I featured this dress and the boots below in this post.
Riding Boots
I’m really getting a lot of wear out of my black riding boots. I have them in the wide calf and I’ve provided links to both the regular and wide calf boots in the shopping widget. I like that these riding boots have a structured style. They come in several great colors, but the inventory is depleting fast. I think they’re a good buy for the price.
Hiking Pants
We hike pretty much year round here in Arizona, but I still have to dress warmly for winter hikes. And I’m really enjoying these Indestructible Hiking Pants for those hikes. They run pretty true to size, but I sized up to my higher size because I like a little wiggle room in my hiking pants. Still, they also have plenty of stretch in them. Available in other shades as well. I featured these hiking pants in this post with other great cool weather hiking gear.
Black Faux Suede Pumps
If you’ve been reading Dressed for My Day long, you know that I love me some beautiful, stylish shoes. But I’m not opposed to buying budget friendly brands when I know that I won’t be wearing them much or for long periods of time. When I wear these black faux suede heels from Target I feel like they are pretty and comfortable, but I also love knowing that I didn’t spend a mint on them. Ha!
These shoes do run large. I usually wear a 9.5, but in these a 9 is still plenty roomy on me. One of the posts in which I wore these shoes is this one.
It Anti-Aging Face Palette
I really just bought this face palette because I liked that it included a subtle bronzer and a highlighter with the blush. But the added benefit is that the three products also include anti-aging formulas. It’s odd. The blush only comes in one hue, and it doesn’t especially look like a shade that I would wear. But when I put it on it looks perfect. Also, I like that the bronzer is matte and not shimmery. If you’ve considered contouring, but haven’t tried it because you don’t want to look overdone…here’s your solution. These products go on very subtly. Caveat: I will say that the packaging for this product is a little faulty in my opinion. I’ve noticed others complained on the reviews, too, so maybe they’ll fix it. It’s just a little hard to open.
Down Puffer Vest
I own this down puffer vest in the classic red, but I love this pink. As of today, the pink is only available in the x-small though. I have the small, for reference.
I wear this vest A LOT. I’ve worn it with jeans, cords and even the occasional skirt. And I wear it over button up shirts like in this post, but I also wear it over sweaters and turtlenecks as in this post. One of the features I like about this vest as opposed to others I tried is that it is cinched in the back slightly.
Holiday Silk Scarf
About this point in the season I always begin panicking because I feel like I haven’t worn my Christmas pieces enough. But really, I’ve worn this pretty silk holiday scarf several times, and I’ll wear it for at least several more seasons, perhaps longer.
I’ve worn this scarf with a black sweater, as in this post, but also with a cream sweater and a soft green sweater. And, because it’s long, I can also wear it for a dressy accent with my black wool coat.
Plaid Button Up Shirt
Honestly, I don’t own a lot of button up shirts because I tend to have issues with shoulder width and sleeve length. But I’ve definitely enjoyed wearing this red and black plaid button up shirt. The website calls it a holiday plaid, but this is not a plaid that is limited to wearing around Christmas. There’s no green in it. Plus these are Georgia Bulldog colors. Woof, woof! It’s just a fun, easy-to-wear shirt. And it works great with the red puffer vest above, as seen in this post.
Shop My December Favorites:
All of my December favorites, except the hiking pants, are in the shopping widget below. I’ve used affiliate links in the post and in the shopping widget for your convenience and so that I can earn a commission on any sales (at no cost to you, of course). Thank so much for shopping through my links.
Let me know if you have any questions about the pieces I’ve shared here. These truly are favorites, not just items I own.
Thanks so much for spending some time here today. I hope you have a blessed and beautiful day as you continue to prepare for and celebrate the birth of Christ.
Blessed for My Day
Wasn’t it difficult enough for Mary and Joseph to wed and begin their family under the unusual circumstances they had found themselves in? Now, on top of all the harsh looks and gossip they were surely encountering, the young couple had to journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem – about 80 miles – for a census, of all things. That first Christmas was not ideal. Jesus was birthed amidst the odors and aches of day-to-day life.
And despite the fact that most of us tend to idealize Christmas, Jesus’ birthday tends to arrive year after year in the midst of our stinky, expensive, stressful and wearisome troubles. We may be picking up the pieces of a broken marriage, fretting over a wayward child, stringing together insufficient funds or looking with longing at the empty chair across the table. And even if we’re not hurting, we’re probably struggling or tired or confused.
Maybe this would be a good time to take a lesson from Mary and Joseph. Let’s put one foot in front of the other and do what needs to be done today. But let’s also trust that God’s got this. And let’s choose, every mile, to focus on Jesus – our hope and our Redeemer.
Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. ~ Luke 2:1-5