What I Wore in December

December Style Diary: Embracing Blazers, Belts and Body Acceptance

I wish December had been cooler in Austin. It had its moments but more often than not it was mild. There weren’t really any opportunities to pull out beloved heavy sweaters from my days as a northerner (but as I type this in early January, that’s changed). Still, I found plenty of opportunities to embrace layering with light jackets, blazers (my favorite!) and festive outfits.

Skimming my photos from December, I can see that my blazers definitely got a lot of wear. That, and belts, which were a consistent part of my pre-motherhood wardrobe, but postpartum, I avoided anything that drew attention to my stomach. Now, a decade later, I’m rediscovering them—and with them, a sense of ease and confidence in my skin. Progress looks like tucking in my shirt and reaching for my go-to belts (J CREW’s classic belt in Italian leather and a Michael Kors belt I panic purchased when I forgot a belt on vacation). The fact that I’m wearing more belts again tells me a few things: 1) I’ve learned, over time, the proportions that work well for my body, and 2) the ongoing work I do to be comfortable in my skin and accept my body for what it is is paying off.

Blazers and Layers

I firmly believe a blazer offers more than just style; it’s a wardrobe powerhouse. It adds polish and helps define proportions. And if you’re hesitant about tucking, a well-fitted blazer can provide coverage while keeping things chic.

I’m a big fan of J.Crew’s Willa blazer, shown above at left (in acorn) and right (in black). As someone with broad shoulders who’s busty, I prefer a single-breasted style jacket and I appreciate the tiniest bit of stretch of this style. Historically, the Willa blazer has been available in a variety of fabrics based on the season, but at the time of this post, its availability seems extremely limited, which hopefully isn’t an indication of it being retired.

If not a blazer, I like adding another type of layering piece when I can. In the first two photos on the left, I’m wearing an olive open-weave v-neck cardigan I snagged on a whim at LOFT late last summer and I’ve worn it countless times since then. Living in such a mild climate, an open-weave like this is ideal when I want to add a layer but the weather doesn’t really allow for it.

I love looking back at photos of things I’ve worn to figure out what works for me and what doesn’t. For example, in the five outfits pictured above, I gravitate towards the two on the left and the second from the right (with the denim jacket and hat). Why? I don’t like how my jacket and sweater hit at nearly the exact same spot on my hip in the third photo; I want more dimension. I don’t like that they both hit at the widest part of my shape and draw attention there. And while I like the last look on the right, I would’ve liked it better with a fitted bottom since the leather jacket is also looser-fitting; I prefer loose on top and fitted on bottom or vice versa because I feel like it balances my proportions a lot better.

A Few Holiday Looks

Our holiday festivities aren’t too fancy. We dress up a bit on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day; otherwise it’s casual. Still, I like to play around with different looks for the season and this year I wanted to work with a specific color palette for even easier mixing and matching. I chose red, burgundy along with neutrals including black, white, grey and camel.

Ordinarily when I think about shoes and accessories to pair with red, I immediately gravitate to black, metallic or animal print, but this year I not only went with a red-on-red monochromatic look for a Christmas brunch, but I broke it up with a camel-colored belt, booties and wool coat (not pictured). I really liked the richness of the camel with the vibrant red—it felt slightly more unexpected than black.

With these five looks, I gravitate towards looks two, three and five. The first super comfy, easy look was for a winter market on the playground at our daughter’s school, and quite frankly I didn’t really care to think about something more exciting. It was festive and fine, served its purpose. The grey sweater vest with the burgundy turtleneck and black sweater pants was incredibly comfortable, but I noticed that the sweater is showing signs of wear (which you can’t see here) and that’s all I can think about when I see this combo. It will likely get removed from my closet.

I really loved the red sweater with the black faux leather pants; this is what I intended to wear on New Year’s Eve. However, it was so warm that night that before we even left the house I was sweating, and I felt like I risked a Ross Gellar moment.

Experimenting with color palettes and pairing unexpected combinations—like camel and red—reminded me how small tweaks can elevate an outfit and showcase individualism, a practice I’m whole-heartedly continuing in the new year.

A few other looks from December: a lightweight fuchsia sweater and charcoal joggers for a cozy heads-down work day, brown-on-brown combo, black jeans + rhinestone-studded top and red belt for birthday dinner, Spanx AirEssentials wide-leg pants and a cozy sweater for a casual get-together at a friend’s house (cannot say enough good things about these pants and their versatility) and a Madewell open-weave sweater with my trusty J.Crew cropped cords.

December wasn’t just about wearing layers; it was about layering confidence, rediscovering old favorites and appreciating how far my style—and my self-acceptance—has come.