Here’s a short list of festive pieces that were winners on my clients, or just caught my eye. Sometimes adding one or two festive items to your style can change the landscape of your wardrobe. Dress the items up or down, wear them in beautiful classic ways, or create interesting juxtapositions that pander to your mood. Wear a sparkly necklace with a sweatshirt, a sequin skirt with a graphic tee, or stompy boots with a formal dress. But most importantly, wear what makes you feel comfortable, happy and appropriately turned out for holiday celebrations. And have fun with your look.

• Talbots Audrey Cashmere Sweater - Graphic Floral: A sleek sweater in an interesting floral in shades of red and white. There are other patterns in the same silhouette if this one does not appeal to you.
• BaubleBar Porsha Crystal Statement Necklace: Mega Bling Fabness. It fits very neatly around the neck.
• House Of Want Small How We Slay Vegan Leather Shoulder Bag: An adorable faux leather dressy and quilted crossbody that comes in many colours. Burgundy, silver and lilac get my top vote.
• AllSaints Rosetta Tinsel Two Piece Sweater & Slipdress: A repeat silhouette that is a hit with some of my clients. It glides over straighter and curvier body types, and has worked on some petites.
• Naturalizer Vanessa Sandal: A no-nonsense metallic sandal that comes in an assortment of widths and metals.
• OPEN EDIT Molten Statement Buckle Belt: A black belt with an interesting buckle that reminds me of Salvador Dali's melting clocks.
• SCOTCH & SODA Sequin-embellished pencil midi skirt: The tie belt can be left off, and it's roomier than you think. Make sure the sequins don't dig into you when you sit down.
• GOOD AMERICAN Good Straight Coated Jeans: A versatile pair of coated jeans that can be dressed up or down. A great fit on curvy body types.
• Lagos Smart Caviar Stainless Steel Link Band for Apple Watch: This is like wearing a pricey bracelet with your Apple watch, but all-in-one.
• BaubleBar Deirdre Crystal Fringe Drop Earrings: If you're looking for sparkly long earrings, these are an option. A refined statement on the ear. Click the link to see how well they drape.
• Invisibelt NEW STYLE – Jean Queen – No Show Women’s Belt – Real Denim Slimming Belt – Function Over Fashion …: These belts are great at keeping up jeans and pants that tend to slip down because the waistbands are big, or stretch out during the day. They lie flat, and are invisible as long as you cover them with a top.
• Lele Sadoughi Imitation Pearl Headband: Make a statement with a festive headband.
• Talbots Black Watch Plaid Pleated Skirt: If you like dark tartan and enjoy pleated skirts, this one has a high longevity factor. A pretty and versatile classic every season. Lovely quality.
• UNIQLO Women +j Down Jacket: A down jacket with a tuxedo collar is unique and quite a statement. It's straight and long, and has an architectural look to it. Looks good on broad shoulders and straighter hips. Comes in black and navy.
• Lauren Ralph Lauren Lurex Cable Knit Boat Neck Sweater: Beautifully made and luxe. The sparkle is gorgeous and unusual in the cabled burgundy. Tailored and classic. Quite long in length. Comes in navy and toffee at Dillard's and Macy's.
• Maggy London Floral Side Twist Long Sleeve Midi Dress: This style of tailored sheath with a side twisted front knot can create lovely proportions, and be forgiving on the midsection. It's insulated and comfortable too.
• Maggy London Long Sleeve Glitter Velvet Midi Dress: A forest green V-neck velvet dress with sleeves in a midi length with interesting skirt ruching is a rare find. This classic fits the bill.
• Eliza J Floral Fit & Flare Dress: A fab dress for a curvier body type. Good on petites too. Flirty and pretty.
• Eliza J Floral Print Long Sleeve Midi Dress: An easy fit-and-flare jersey dress for Team Teal that packs and launders like a dream. Soft, comfy, and elegant. The spacing of the floral is interesting.
• Ted Baker London Aavvaa Long Sleeve Cotton & Wool Blend Sweater Dress: A sweater dress that isn't as clingy as it looks because the ruched side adds some textural interest. The side slit is a little high so consider yourself warned. Comes in forest green.
• Ted Baker London Eddith Floral Wrap Blouse: Delicate, pretty, waist-defining and a slam dunk with black bottoms.
• Eliza J Sleeveless Waist Tie Dress: If you like to wear dressy sleeveless and tailored sheath dresses in cool-toned colours, this is worth a try.
• L.K.Bennett Issy Pink Sparkly Tailored Trousers: These are tailored and gorgeous. Luxe and interesting. Works well on straighter and curvier body types. The metallic lilac is extra unique, but it comes in gold.
• M&S Collection Soft Touch Fabulous Slogan Crew Neck Jumper: For obvious reasons this is a great YLF sweater. Very soft to the touch.
• Boden Cotton Crew Sweater: Soft, fresh, and ready for Spring!
• M&S Collection Striped Sparkly Jumper: Berry Candy Diagonal Jumper Fabness. This silhouette looks fab with a skirt, and wide pants because it's fitted and blousons at the waist. Comes in grey and black.
• M&S Collection Sparkly Crew Neck Button Through Cardigan: A sparkly, refined and pretty cardigan that comes in black and looks great worn as a top with skirts.
• Brooks Brothers Merino Mixed-Media Rope Cardigan: This navy and brown twinset is absolutely GORGEOUS. Impeccable quality and beautifully luxe. Fluidly Tailored, chic, and very comfortable. I tried it for my Horse Capsule but it did not fit. It was also a little too brown for my preferences - but blast, I loved it!

You can see the pictures alongside the items on the collection page.

A new outfit from Dorrie Jacobson of Senior Style Bible, whom we introduced to YLF in September 2015. At age 86, Dorrie continues to inspire us. She is still having fun with fashion every day, and knocking it out of the park!

Here’s a bit of comfy pattern-mixed bling for the festive season! Black is present in every item Dorrie is sporting, apart from her jewellery. This brings cohesiveness to the gorgeous maximal outfit. The green snakeskin midaxi pencil skirt is a versatile piece that can be dressed up or down for the holiday season. Here Dorrie casualizes the skirt by pairing it with an on-trend fluid fit black slogan sweatshirt. Her black and white block-heeled booties add graphic pattern to the look, and lengthen the leg line. Our blogger’s clutch with a different black and white pattern cleverly echoes the footwear. Her vintage silver YSL necklace is a showstopper that adds lightness and sparkle around her face. Dorrie’s spiky ’do adds tons of pizzazz and works perfectly with the statement necklace. Oversized sunnies, a sleek coctail ring and pink lipstick complete this casually glam holiday look.

Gentle Herd is a clothing and accessory brand that is about gentleness and love. Their mission is to deliver the finest cashmere and wool garments ethically and sustainably to consumers. The sheep and goats that produce wool for their collections are protected through strict codes of conduct. Through standardized and meticulously cared for breeding, shearing, feeding, and transport practices, animals are kept safe and healthy. And the farming community is thriving and prosperous. For example, only the goat’s underlayer is collected during the annual shearing process so that the goats stay warm during Winter. The wool is collected, combed, and trimmed by hand in a delicate and precise process.

The brand is transparent about their production and pricing model. The vertical operation from factory to consumer seems equally impressive. I do not know where the Gentle Herd factories are located, but they have overseas warehouses and offices in Denver, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Inner Mongolia, Paris, Frankfurt, Vancouver, Sydney, London, Shenzhen, and Hang Zhou.

Their website has an interesting section about fabric, where they talk about worsted cashmere, cashmere, blends, merino wool, and worsted wool. They also explain that by using LONG micro fibres to create the yarn that is knitted into garments, the brand is able to improve softness and quality. These long fibres prevent garments from pilling. It’s when micro fibres are short, that garments tend to pill easily.

As I browse the items, I am struck by the very large assortment across women, men and kids. They offer solid knitwear, pants, skirts, suits, sets, outerwear, and accessories across many classic and on-trend silhouettes. There are dressier items too. Most of the offerings are fairly neutral and run from sizes XXS to XXL. It is my hope that they include larger sizes soon. Gentle Herd encourages you contact them if you can’t find what you’re looking for. Who knows, you might get exactly what you want if you ask them. The prices seem more affordable than the industry norm for similar products. There is a good sale section too.

I like what this company is doing and want to support them. But first I need to figure out which item I want and how it will fit into my wardrobe and budget.

Real and faux leather pants are having their fashion moment in assorted silhouettes and colours. Most of the fabrics are faux leather, some of which are sustainably and ethically produced. Faux leather pants are more affordable than real leather, and easier to launder. Solid neutrals are the norm, but non-neutrals are gaining popularity. Styles range from body-con leggings, skinnies and streamlined straight legs, to roomier relaxed straights, barrel legs, joggers, paperbag waists, flares, and wide legs.

Here are some examples.

I’m building the solid components of my wardrobe and unexpectedly added a pair of orange faux leather cropped wide leg pants to my bottoms capsule. They are sustainably and ethically produced, and machine washable, which is compelling. I showed them to our forum here, and wore them to host Thanksgiving dinner. I LOVE them. As sensible and effective as it is to plan the purchases of our wardrobes, a dead right impulsive purchase that finds us is an extra fun addition.

The orange pants are easy to style because I will wear them with the red, shocking pink, burgundy, white, cream, blue, and orange separates of my wardrobe. I find that real or faux leather pants add an interesting textural dimension to an outfit. Personally, I like combining leather bottoms with a soft and cosy top, like a cashmere/merino pullover, and wool coat. So far, I have only worn them with dressy boots, but can see them with my hi-tops too.

Here are some easy leather pants outfit ideas to get the creative juices flowing. A range of leather pants silhouettes are shown, but feel free to wear colour palettes that are more to your taste.

1. Sweater, Sneakers, Scarf

Combine a pair of leather joggers with a comfy fluid or oversized sweater in a fine or chunky gauge. Add hi-top sneakers and a scarf that works in the palette of the outfit. Here the Winter white adds a crisp touch to the brown leather joggers. The scarf is seasonally fun in orange and olive. I can see a brown, orange, or cream bag in the mix.

2. Tee, Shacket, Stompy Boots

Combine a pair of leather pants with a tee or lightweight sweater. Pop a shacket over the top and finish things off with a pair of flat stompy boots. Here, the shacket is long and patterned, but a solid short shacket is fab too. I’d have preferred to see brown boots that pick up the brown of the plaid, but the black works well. I like the addition of the glam necklace.

3. Denim Shirt, Coat, Dressy Boots

Combine a blue denim shirt with a pair of leather pants. Add dressier boots. Top things off with a dressier coat and a bag to match. Browns look good with shades, tones, and tints of blue, and this look is a great example. Sub the shirt with a sweater if that’s more your thing. Or create a look in shades and tones of brown from head to toe.

3. Chunky Sweater, Dressy Boots, Crossbody

And last, combine a pair of leather pants with a chunky sweater or sweatshirt in a solid or pattern. With these wide leg pants, the sweater is semi-tucked to hint at a waistline to create a bit of outfit structure. Add dressy boots and a crossbody over the top. Here, the pants are sported at the new shorter full length to showcase more of the boots. I have grown to like this length and visual effect, especially for wet Seattle so that I can avoid soggy hems. Add jewellery, watch, eyewear and headgear as desired.