It’s the last of my Christmas ‘what to wear’ posts today and I’m pleased to be working with Boden, bringing you my edit of their current collection. The great news is that in celebration of their 28th birthday, they’re offering 28% off almost everything including the pieces I’ve featured in here until Thursday 21st November with code 6T2C so hopefully I’m bringing you these ideas at just the right time.

I’m operating within the Four Pillars of Festive Style that I discussed in Friday’s post but I today I want to show you how they can sometimes cross over, helping your wardrobe to work even harder. As always, Boden invited me to choose press samples of the outfits that I wanted to put into practice so not all of these lovely pieces will be making it into my wardrobe but some of them will and it’s going to be hard to whittle it down.

Christmas what to wear 1 – night out

So, I’m starting off with an outfit that I planned into my Pillar 3 category (relaxed Christmas night out) however having worn it in the daytime, I think it works well for Pillar 2 (smart daytime chic) too as an alternative to a statement skirt. With the evenings being so dark now we had to photograph it in daylight and it felt fine for an afternoon by the fire, reading the weekend newspapers in a lovely hotel.

Rather than being faux fur, the leopard coat is a wool blend which means the print is knocked back and subtle; reading the reviews, a few people seem to like it specifically for this reason. You can see that I’m using it to apply the rule of two thirds to an otherwise fitted outfit.

This is the first time I’ve tried Boden’s coated jeans and I like the fact that they’re cropped so they work well with a party shoe. They’re actually described as waxed rather than coated because they have a matte finish so they’d be a good choice for you if you’re just edging into this type of jean.

Christmas what to wear - date night

Wool blend leopard coat (also available in black, plum, red or teal, 28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C); velvet wrap top (also available in navy or gold – 28% off until Thursday with code 6T2C); waxed jeans (28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C); bronze shoes (28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C).

The top is a fixed velvet wrap. The neckline is quite low but it’s balanced out with volume in the gathered sleeves so that it isn’t tight all over. The ruched waist is flattering to the midriff and it isn’t bulky so you could wear it tucked or untucked.

The bronze shoes are fabulous, more subtle than gold with a low kitten heel. I find that I can handle bare feet for a winter night out as long as I’m wearing a full shoe like this rather than a sandal or slingback (and if you don’t have time for a pedicure, it isn’t the end of the world). I’m playing with textures again here as you can see and it helps to make a winter look more interesting.

All items in the outfit were true to size – if you’re between sizes in shoes go up because the toe is quite pointy.

Christmas what to wear - Boden coated jeans

Velvet wrap top (also available in navy or gold – 28% off until Thursday with code 6T2C); waxed jeans (28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C); bronze shoes (28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C).

Christmas what to wear 2 – Wintry afternoon

A complete change of pace now and I’m bringing you a Pillar 1 winter’s day outfit, the sort of thing you might wear when you’re going out for lunch in a country pub which is exactly what we were doing here.

Pink with red is one of my favourite colour combinations but it can be difficult to get the shades right. I’m quite happy to wear a warmer, clashing shade of pink with red but a lot of people find it too harsh. This wool mix jumper is almost a blush, it’s just a small step away from white so it feels like a much softer combination. It’s a wool, cotton and cashmere blend with a boat neck and gold buttons on the sleeves as an extra detail.

Casual Christmas what to wear

Soft pink jumper(28% off until Thursday with code 6T2C); velvet trousers (28% off until Thursday with code 6T2C); checked wool scarf (28% off until Thursday with code 6T2C)

The velvet trousers are the ones you’ve seen me wearing before dressed up for a party with the matching jacket and I just wanted to show how versatile they can be. Smarter than a velvet jean, you could dress them up for a special event or down for the weekend like this. They’ll work with grey, navy, black or a neutral – red is a much easier colour to wear than it appears.

And of course the cosy wool scarf pulls the whole outfit together. Even though it’s 100% wool it’s a soft, non-itchy blend and it’s just the right length for wrapping round and tying. It has a burgundy stripe in it too so it would work with darker shades of red as well. All items in this outfit were true to size.

red and pink outfits

A reminder of the velvet trousers dressed up with the matching jacket taking the trousers straight from Pillar 1 to Pillars 3 or 4.

red trouser suit - Christmas what to wear

Velvet trousers; velvet jacket; blouse (all 28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C)

Christmas what to wear 3 – party

And with my last outfit I’m moving into pure party territory. I loved this trouser suit as soon as I saw it, it’s just on the subtle side of bling which means it looks far more expensive than it is.

It would be perfect for a black tie event (Pillar 4), giving you standout amongst a sea of sparkly dresses. However both pieces would be hard working separates in your winter wardrobe too – the jacket would be great for dressing up jeans as part of a night out outfit (Pillar 3) and the trousers would be lovely dressed down with a jumper for a chilled out day with family or friends (Pillar 2).

Christmas what to wear

Gold jacket; gold trousers; silk vest top (all 28% off until Thursday with coded 6T2C)

The only problem is that they’re showing very low stock at the moment (there are more jackets available than trousers) however I suspect there will be some returns to come in after last week’s 25% promo  so keep stalking the site.

I paired them with a simple silk vest which is actually far nicer on than I thought it would be. It has a wide V-neck that isn’t too deep and broad, nicely cut straps that give you the effect of a camisole without being quite so skimpy at the shoulders. The V-back takes it away from the ordinary and gives it a little more panache. It’s also available in ivory and it’s one of those quiet wardrobe heroes that Boden does so well.

gold trouser suit

Gold jacket (currently 28% off); gold trousers; silk vest top

So that’s it, I think we’ve covered Christmas outfits now and I hope you’re feeling party ready. We have our first big Christmas event to go to this weekend – a Winter Ball. I know what I’m going to wear, I just hope we’re feeling a little less sad. We’ve had a difficult few days because we had to say goodbye to our treasured dog Gary on Saturday, I’m not ready to write about it yet but at some point I will as my way of paying tribute to my much loved friend.

Blogging will help to take my mind off it this week because on Friday I’ll be moving on to the first of my Christmas gift posts. I have the whole family working on ideas this year to help make sure that the presents I suggest are the ones people really want. Until then, thank you, as always, for reading and thank you to Boden for working with me again.

You can see everything in Boden’s 28th birthday 28% off promotion here

Disclosure: ‘A Christmas what to wear – Boden edit’ was commissioned by Boden but all content is my own.

Recent posts you may have missed

Festive dressing ideas & an evening at John Lewis

Relaxed winter chic for women over 40

Advent calendars – receive and give back

Winter blue capsule from Marks & Spencer

British brands you should know

A reader trip to The D’Azur

What’s going on at Hush?

Winter outfit ideas from John Lewis & Partners

Friday cornucopia

Winter coat capsule – what do you really need?

Bumper Boden edit – AW19

Chic Autumn Basics – what to wear now

Ordinary outfits for an ordinary working week

What’s going on at M&S?

Easy ways to update your wardrobe for AW19

Autumn/Winter 2019 trend analysis

Subscribe by Email



Disclaimer: as with the majority of blogs, products featured on Midlifechic sometimes (but not always) include affiliate links. This means that if you choose to make a purchase, you are helping to support the site because a small referral commission may be paid. This contributes towards hosting fees, software costs, site maintenance and other plug-ins. Midlifechic could not exist without these small payments, so every contribution makes a big difference.