As an avid reader of People, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan, I am the first to admit that I’m a subject of advertisements.  And this time of year, there’s few things more annoying than seeing the consistent pushing of “little black dresses” for that New Year’s party or holiday soiree.  Often, my holiday bashes include jeans and sweaters, and New Year’s is just awful in New England without a puffy coat and hat.  Which completely negates the point of wearing a little black dress in the first place.

            So in attempts to overcome the desire to go out and buy a cute dress that I will not end up wearing, over the years I’ve come up with new holiday style essentials.  Call it the real-life non-California-based holiday fashion.

1.    Invest in a hat, scarf, and mitten set.  But not the kind you get as gifts that you really don’t like.  My staple is Gap.  Relatively affordable and always cute, Gap comes out with new scarf/hat/glove sets every year, and you can always match colors—no more annoying pink scarf and red hat.
 Gap fingerless/mittens

2.    If you’re going to a New Year’s bar or club but need to be outside to get there, the best bet is buying some cute boots.  Boots are the one thing you can see even with a giant coat on.  They are important, as you have to walk on ice and be able to dance in the same night.  And, as we learned from Carrie Bradshaw, shoes in general are the most important part of any outfit.
-invest in Dolce Vita Boots 

3.    New England is cold.  You need a coat in cold weather.  Hence, the need for a cute winter coat that is formal, casual, professional, and warm, all at once.  Does such a garment exist?  I always have good luck at Express and Gap (that place is just a Zen zone for winter clothing, apparently), but if you’re more of an online shopper, check out http://www.wintercoat.com/ for some heavy-duty cold weather coats.
-North Face Artic Parka 

So now you’re covered from head to toe.  It’s the details that matter.  Work with what you’ve got—and in New England, that definitely means the cold.  Because snow is sexy, too.