Christmas Dresses

When I was a girl, I loved American Girl books, and I remember being especially thrilled by Molly's green velvet Christmas dress. For all I knew, as an 8-year-old girl, Christmas dresses were always red, so Molly's green dress seamed like a fantastically rule-breaking stroke of fashion genius. I soon convinced my mom to make me one (which wasn't so hard to do -- the skill and enthusiasm with which she made me clothes is one of the many things I cherish about her), and she enlisted our friend Imogene (an older woman whom I had adopted as my grandmother) to help with the project. The design came from my own head--it had these crazy sleeves that were puffed and the top and then fitted and long (I'd seen them on a costume in a Shakespeare play)--and I was consulted for every detail (I distinctly remember Imogene asking how may scallops I wanted at the neckline). It was my first experience with the limitless joy that clothes could bring, and because of that, I still have a soft spot for holiday dresses.

If you've got a holiday party coming up, and you're already considering what to wear, you might want to check out modcloth.com, as they truly have the best collection of affordable(ish) holiday-party dresses I've seen. Plus, many of them a Mad Men quality to them that I love. I mean, don't these two dresses evoke that lovely dress Joan wore to the Office Christmas party?

Here are some more of my favorite Mad-Men-evoking holiday dresses from Modcloth:

1. Combine Joan's color with Betty's silhouette for a brand-new look.

2. Black can look festive with laced with shimmer.

3. This super sweet look captures my vintage-loving heart.

And here are some modern ones:

1. Silver and gold are an underrated pairing that look spectacular for holiday parties.

2. An opportunity to try out the new visible-bra trend

3. This one was featured in Marie Claire.

Modcloth even has a great collection of festive shoes (including green velvet ones)!

From a green-velvet dress to green-velvet shoes, my taste in fashion has changed a lot over the years, but I still love, love, love Christmas dresses!