After every holiday or vacation or birthday, I always seem to go through what my mom calls "post-vacation letdown." After the exciting events of these special days, like dressing up and indulging in festive foods and attending parties with friends decked out in just-purchase-for-the-occasion attire, life has to return to what it was before: work, routines, and less festive everything. The return to the everyday always makes me feel mundane and sad that the holiday-friendly excuse to wear Sparkly cocktail rings and statement necklaces everyday or to eat my mom's peanut-butter-and-Hershey-kiss cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is no longer acceptable.
The day after New Years always brings these feelings to a head. Even in the days after Christmas, there is NYE to look forward to, with its welcome attitude toward sparkly clothing and the celebratory mood it garners. It gives everyone something to celebrate, regardless of faith. The end of a calendar year. A fresh start. A new attitude. Promises to eat no carbs. Promises to volunteer every Saturday. Promises to hit the gym two times a day, everyday, in 2011. Promises to get organized. Promises to learn Turkish. Promises to teach the cat how to flush the toilet. Promises to be more patient with one's in-laws. As you can tell, not all of these are realistic. But the air of the holiday season lets us believe in something that seems unrealistic and magical, that we're capable of something that the March or July versions of ourselves didn't have the chutzpah to even think to attempt.
With that air of magic, to me, comes the desire to dress in a way I wouldn't normally during the other months of the year. I'm normally a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but December brings out black tights, sparkly jewelry, curly hair, and glittery heels. Something I hope to bring into the New Year with me is this reinvigorated sense of style.
Lately, I've been investing in plain tops and bottoms (mostly from The Gap), and buying less expensive accessories. I've found that Charlotte Russe has a really current, on-point selection of belts, necklaces, bracelets, and rings that are pretty inexpensive. I own the first necklace and I plan on going back soon and buying the last two. They would look great with a plain shirt or a cardigan.
I hope you all had a safe, excellent New Year. Here's to a sparkly 2011.