While women are interested in preparing for dressing up during the holidays, men are not, according to the operators of clothing stores on the North Shore.
In Lower Lonsdale, Unity Clothing manager Nicola Rough said more women this year are preparing for their Christmas parties in advance.
“We had people coming in as early as October getting ready for the holiday season. Also that’s because we get new things in every single week, so people like to grab things early because they usually go really quickly,” Rough said of the Lower Lonsdale boutique.
Mixing and matching various textures and colours is highly popular this season, said Rough, but there are some trends that will always be in style.
“The classic one for sure would be either blacks or reds, everybody looks good in black, we know that, but we have this really beautiful kind of wine burgundy velvet red dress in, that laces up in the back,” Rough said.
Shearling jackets are also a trend according to Rough. She said because it will add volume and texture, a shearling jacket can be a statement piece and transition the outfit from day to night.
Dawn Blaschuk, one of the owners of Above Average, a plus size clothing store in Lower Lonsdale, said they work with their customers individually.
“There are certain styles that are going to look better on somebody that’s more apple shape, versus somebody that’s more pear shape. It just really depends on the person and we try to spend a fair amount of time getting something so you do look your best,” Blaschuk said.
In order not to go overboard with all the trendy sequences and sparkles, Rough said it is important to stick to one colour or statement piece.
“You have to choose between texture being the statement with whole outfit one colour, or one statement piece on a simple black dress,” Rough said.
Things are different for J. Gregory Men’s Apparel owner Will Van Unen, who said there is no interest from men to overdress during the holidays.
“Men seldom prepare for dress-up. It’s their wives or girlfriends that prepare,” Van Unen said. “In the past we’ve had the father of the bride buy a suit the day before his daughter’s wedding. That’s what guys do.”
One of the new most popular accessories in the Caulfeild Village store is a pocket hanky, which has now replaced the tie, Van Unen said. There is also a new security-proof wallet .
“It holds about seven or eight cards and they are hidden and then there is a little flipper on the bottom of it,” Van Unen said.
He said the days are gone when men will dress up with a shirt and tie. The younger generation will wear a pair of designer jeans and a blue or a black casual blazer and that would be their dress up.
“The holidays are not as important to change your dress style, as it was in the older days,” Van Unen said.
