by contributor Wendy Gordon
Ah…the holiday season. To some, it means Christmas cookies, pine needles on the rug and hiding the ribbon from the gift wrap from the cat.
But to the Washington Post’s Fashion Washington (FW) Magazine, it means the debut of their annual holiday edition. FW partnered with four local bloggers in fashion, food, lifestyle, menswear and children’s—each selecting 10 gifts to highlight in their respective categories.
While some may think “Fashion Washington” is a contradiction in terms, think again. Not only does the DC Metro area have its share of emerging design talent, but also a bevy of boutiques featuring some pretty fashion forward stuff…and we’re talking other than the wing tips, dark suit and red tie.
FW’s holiday issue rolled out at Redeem, an Urban Boutique on 14th Street on Thursday evening with a little soiree that included everything from Lychee cocktails from Ping Pong Dim Sum to racks and racks of men’s and women’s frocks. Shopping and cocktails? Don’t mind if we do.
So now that the holiday issue has hit the street, what are the editors’ picks for this season’s ‘must have’ gifts and trends? According to FW’s assistant editor Holley Simmons, “I really think scarves are the perfect holiday gift,” Simmons says. They’re warm, they’re versatile, they don’t have to be fit—very thoughtful.”
FW’s editor Jennifer Barger offered that this year’s holiday fashion must have is more casually elegant. “Where last year I would have said the Tuxedo Jacket,” Barger said, “this year, I’m going to be wearing a lot of Cashmere sweaters and long, flowy skirts—things that feel luxurious, but not like I’m going to a cocktail party.”
But what of this January, when we’re all bundled in puffy down coats and layers of thermal wear for the inauguration? What then?? The inaugural balls, of course, and they’re inside…mostly. For those of us that don’t have access to our choice of designer like our First Lady, Barger recommends a ‘hot dress. “ If you’re not Michelle Obama, who, of course, will be wearing a ball gown—“if you’re an ‘ordinary person’ going to a ball, it might be a bright colorful dress or maybe some crazy sort of skirt/leather jacket combination that shakes things up.” Could DC be getting a little more funky? One can only hope.
