What to wear on Christmas Day depends on whether you are cooking, visiting or staying put, but the answer is always the same shape: something soft, something warm, and something that photographs well, because those photographs will be looked at for twenty years. The outfits below cover hosting, being a guest and a quiet day at home, and none of them involves a waistband you will regret by three o'clock.
Christmas photos stay in the family for decades, which is a lot to ask of an outfit you have only seen on a hanger. You can see your chosen knit on your own photo in the Wdrobe app well before the day.
Christmas Day is fifteen hours long
That is the constraint everything else follows from. You will be up early, cooking or travelling, eating a large meal, sitting on the floor with wrapping paper, too warm indoors, and cold on a walk. Then you will still be wearing it at eleven at night.
So the outfit has to be:
- Soft at the waist. A knit dress, a wrap, an elasticated or drawstring waist. Not a stiff waistband.
- Layered so warmth is removable. Kitchens are hot and living rooms are not.
- Good in photographs from the front and while seated, which is how ninety percent of Christmas photos happen.
- Not new. A first outing is not the day to discover something itches.
If you are cooking
1. Fine knit midi dress, flat boots or slippers, apron
The most reliable hosting outfit there is. It looks finished in every photo, it survives an apron, and it does not have a waistband that fails after lunch.
2. Wide-leg soft trousers, tucked fine knit, flat mules
Cooler than a dress if the kitchen is small and the oven is on from eight in the morning. Keep sleeves short or easy to push up.
3. Dark jeans, satin or silk shell, cardigan
The most rescuable if something spills. The cardigan does the dressing-up and comes off the moment the kitchen wins.
If you are visiting
You will be in a house warmer than yours, sitting for most of the day, and possibly walking somewhere in the afternoon.
4. Knit dress in wine, plum or forest green, opaque tights, ankle boots
Colour does the work here. See what colours go with wine if you are building outwards from a piece you own.
5. Velvet or corduroy trousers, cream knit, loafers
Texture instead of colour, and it photographs as dressed-up even though the shapes are plain.
6. Midi skirt, tucked fine knit, tights, boots
The safest guest outfit, and the easiest to pull from a normal wardrobe. Midi skirt outfits covers the proportions.
If you are staying at home
The temptation is pyjamas all day, and there is nothing wrong with that until someone takes a photograph.
7. Cashmere or lambswool joggers and a matching knit
Loungewear that reads as an outfit. One matching set, in cream, grey or a deep colour, is the entire trick.
8. Wide-leg jersey trousers, a soft knit, wool socks
Comfortable enough to spend the day in and still recognisably dressed.
Getting any of these decided before Christmas Eve is the real win, and it is much faster when you can see the pieces together. If your clothes are in Wdrobe, you can build the day's outfit in a couple of minutes and have it saved.
Colours that photograph well indoors
Christmas photographs happen in low, warm, artificial light, usually against a tree. That flatters some colours and kills others.
- Cream, camel and warm neutrals: excellent, they catch the light.
- Burgundy, wine, plum, forest green: excellent, rich under warm light.
- Red: fine, but it will compete with the tree and the wrapping paper.
- Black: flat in indoor photos. Add a warm accessory or a texture such as velvet.
- White: risky. Gravy, red wine, chocolate, small children.
The two rules that matter
Wear layers you can remove without changing outfit. Not a jumper over a vest. A cardigan over a knit, or a blazer over a shell.
Have the shoes decided. Most people spend Christmas Day in whatever was by the door. Slippers or flat boots chosen in advance beat that, and the photographs show it.
Frequently asked questions
What should you wear on Christmas Day?
Something soft-waisted and layered: a fine knit midi dress, or soft wide-leg trousers with a tucked knit and a cardigan. Add flat boots or slippers, and keep the warmth removable, because the kitchen and the living room are very different temperatures.
What should ladies wear on Christmas Day at home?
A matching knit set in cream or a deep colour, or jersey wide-leg trousers with a soft knit. Both are as comfortable as loungewear and still look like an outfit in photographs, which is the only real requirement of the day.
Can you wear jeans on Christmas Day?
Yes, if the waistband is comfortable after a large meal. Dark straight or wide-leg jeans with a satin top or a fine knit and a cardigan reads as dressed rather than casual at almost any family Christmas.
What colours should you wear at Christmas?
Cream, camel, burgundy, wine, plum and forest green all photograph well in warm indoor light. Black tends to go flat in those photos unless you add a texture such as velvet or a warm accessory.
For the parties either side of the day itself, holiday party outfit ideas covers December evenings and New Year's Eve outfit ideas covers the thirty-first.
The decision is easy in principle and gets made badly at eight in the morning with wrapping paper everywhere. Wdrobe keeps your wardrobe on your phone so Christmas Day is decided in the week before, alongside everything else you are already planning. Have it ready.
