Tacky Christmas Sweater Antithesis

Jacket: Forever 21, Tank: lotus, Pants: Express, Shoes: Blake Scott, Necklace (DIY): Arden B, Purse: Hong Kong Vintage, Watch: Michael Kors, Bracelets: Target, Stella&Dot, Ivy & Leo, Sunglasses: Nine West (Carrie's), Rings: $6 vendor and Stella&Dot (photos: Carrie Hawkins Foust)

It's the eve of Christmas Eve. Normally I am in New York by now where it is absolutely freezing, but today in Charlotte it is sunny and mid-60s. It hasn't quite felt like Christmas to me yet, so in attempt to get myself in the holiday spirit I threw on my version of a Christmas outfit; then Carrie (my BFF photog) and I headed out to the holiday decorations down the street from where we work for a couple of shots in front of some over-sized ornaments. These pants are not "winter white" which is erroneously thought to be the only appropriate version of the (non)color after Labor Day, they are in fact bright (dead of summer) white. I love wearing real white in the winter. I think it is very "holidayish" and season appropriate. I am not normally one to dress in holiday colors (I don't usually do pink on Valentine's Day, green on St. Patrick's Day, etc.), but when I put this blazer, tank, pants, and shoes on it just looked a little boring. I added the red clutch for an accent and initially had my staple, gold, monogrammed necklace on around my neck. It was still missing something for me. I guess the holiday made me think of pairing green with red, so I went to my closet looking for this crazy "bib" necklace. I HEART this thing! If you notice in the caption, I referred to it as a "DIY" (Do It Yourself). That is because it was actually part of a shirt. It was a sleeveless flowy, ribbed top from Arden B in the same color. I loved the shirt when I first bought it in 2005, but it was a little big and the shape of it made it pretty unflattering on. It actually looked like a maternity shirt, which is NOT a good thing since I normally wore it out (bar/club...alcohol...looking pregnant...not ideal). It sat in my closet for about a year, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it out because I loved the neckline so much. I decided to cut the neck off of the shirt to see if I liked it as an obnoxiously large necklace. VOILA! I loved it,  and a necklace is much more versatile than a shirt. I have worn this necklace with a white t-shirt, a black shift dress, a button down casual shirt, and I'm brainstorming other ways to rock it since I pulled it out today. This ensemble is my version of holiday garb and in my opinion, it trumps the tacky Christmas sweater any day of the week. Although, I did get a red and green manicure today....no, really, I did. I may not usually dress to reflect the holidays, but my nails are a whole other story.