How To Shop Your Closet For Holiday Outfits

The Scarlet Lily
by The Scarlet Lily

Fashion How To Shop Your Closet For Holiday Outfits posted on : November 13, 2020

Hello, and happy Friday! Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and with online shopping being more popular than ever, it’s a good idea to start a little earlier this year.

It only makes sense that many people do not want to spend a lot of money on holiday outfits this year. Well, I’m here to help! Today I’m going to show you how to shop your closet for holiday outfits. This is a very informal post. There are no scenic backgrounds…it’s just you and me trying on clothes like girlfriends do!

Although some of the pieces I’m showing today are recent purchases, nothing was purchased specifically for this post. I literally went into my closet and started putting outfits together with pieces that you might already have in your closet too.

I will link to pieces that are still available or similar in case you do want to purchase something new this year, but the main focus today is just to give you some outfit ideas that you can put together without having a buy a single thing!

There are a lot of outfits here! I have tried to group them into categories to make it less overwhelming.

So let’s get started on how to shop your closet for holiday outfits!


Wear Plaid


Plaid is certainly a traditional holiday print, and it is timeless. Red plaid is the most common Christmas look, so I want to encourage you to consider non-traditional colors that might be in your closet.


This shirt looks nice paired with a black skirt and boots as seen in the photos to the far left. In the middle photo, I switched to some dark wash straight leg jeans and flats. Then the last look on the far right is a pair of high waisted black pants with black heels. One top with several different looks!


Here are some similar plaid tops to shop if you are interested:

Red Sweater

Another way to shop your closet for holiday outfits is to look for a red sweater. Again, this is a very traditional Christmas piece that most people have in their wardrobe already. Here I have paired a red sweater with off white ankle pants. Try to think outside the box of the typical black pants with red sweater. Black pants would be perfectly fine here, but if you have a pair of white or off white pants it will look a little more unique.

I didn’t have an off white belt, so I improvised with a white one. It doesn’t look the best, but you can still get the idea. I made a mental note to purchased a creamy white belt!

The red sweater could also be paired with denim. Here I chose my flared style jeans with leopard print heels. These are my favorite Sophia Vergara flare jeans from Walmart.

Red and white are also a nice holiday color combination. Here are some flared white jeans with neutral heels. You could also layer on a camel colored cardigan to make the outfit more interesting.


Shop Red Sweaters

Sweater Dress


I am willing to bet that most of you have a sweater dress in your closet! They are a great choice for a holiday gathering because they are warm, stylish, and comfortable. They look quite chic with a pair of tall boots.

Here I am wearing three different colors. Notice that it does not have to be red or green to look festive, although I will admit I love a red sweater dress!


Animal Print


Another common piece that you probably have in your closet is some kind of animal print. It could be a dress, top, sweater, shoes….really anything. Here are some ideas that I came up with from items in my closet.

This dress from Loft is a couple of years old, but many of you probably already have an animal print dress or sweater in your closet!

An animal print sweater with a short black skirt is a fun combination. Here I am showing the sweater tucked and untucked. My sweater is from Target (last year) and my skirt is from Loft.

A leopard print top and skinnies looks nice with neutral colored heels. You could also add a cardigan or blazer to complete this look.


Here are some animal print looks to shop:

Green Sweater


Green is another traditional Christmas color. Consider what shade of green is the most flattering on you.

This green V-neck sweater has been in my wardrobe for three years. The shade of green and the neckline are both flattering for my body type and skin tone.

If you have a green sweater, see how many ways you can style it based on what you have. Here I chose a faux suede skirt, and a black skirt.


Fair Isle Sweater

Fair Isle sweaters are timeless. They come in so many different color combinations. This colorful sweater in the photo above is from Talbots last year.


Here are some current fair isle sweaters to shop

This black and white fair isle sweater is a couple of years old and was originally purchased at Old Navy. I love the way they look with a skirt, tights, and boots.


Swing Dress


Swing Dresses are a very popular style. If you have one, I encourage you to play around with it. There are so many ways to style these. I always belt swing dresses because of my shape. If you are curvy like me, this style can be very unflattering without defining your waist.

This green swing dress is from last year (Old Navy). They have them every year in several colors and they are very inexpensive. This one is long sleeved, but if you have a sleeveless or short sleeve version they can work too. Just layer it with a cardigan, jacket, or pullover sweater.

I like to wear a pull over sweater with a swing dress to totally transform the look. Now it looks more like a skirt. This can be a little tricky because you have to pick just the right sweater that is not too oversized or bulky.


Shop swing dresses here


I hope this has given you some inspiration on how to shop your closet for some holiday outfits!



The author may collect a small share of sales from the links on this page.

The Scarlet Lily
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  • Susan Susan on Nov 20, 2021

    Thank you! Another trick I use is to buy one inexpensive piece of costume jewelry (usually a necklace or pair of earrings) each year that makes a statement. Something sparkly that would be too much for every day wear. It elevates even the most basic outfit to holiday status.

  • Bertha Esoldo Bertha Esoldo on Nov 21, 2021

    Thank you!

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