Are plaid shirts a staple in your closet yet? They definitely are in mine! Several friends have told me plaid shirts are hard for them to wear because they feel like a farmer or lumberjack (whatever that means) when they don’t intend to. Plaid button ups can give off a lot of different vibes depending on the pattern of the plaid, the material, and what you wear it with. For example, pairing one with light wash jeans and sneakers might be more inclined to make you feel like you’ll be camping or doing something outdoors. Or, some plaid shirts have “western” designs to feel more…western.
That’s just to say that there are quite a few ways to style plaid, and some of them can be suited for camping (like THIS outfit) or they can even be dressed up. One of my favorite plaid tops is from Nordstrom, and while I’ve worn it in casual looks (HERE), I’m excited to partner with Nordstrom today to show you how to dress up a plaid shirt for a dressy-casual holiday party.
It’s actually super easy to dress up a plaid shirt, but I always forget I can do that when I’m thinking of what to wear for a dressy-casual party. One easy way is to pair it with a skirt. For holiday looks, a full leather skirt, a sparkly sequined skirt (full or pencil), or a deep red or green skirt (like THIS green pencil skirt) would work really well. However, if you’d rather wear jeans for dressy-casual and colder weather, here’s what I did:
1. Choose a plaid with red or green, or both! You can dress up any plaid, but particularly during the holidays, red or green plaid will feel more festive. The beauty of this is that you can really wear red or green plaid anytime of the year, so they can be used year round.
There are plenty of red plaid shirts out there, but I haven’t come across too many green ones. THIS green one is kinda perfect though, as it has green, red, and white! But don’t worry, it doesn’t scream, “CHRISTMAS!!!!” either, so you can totally wear it anytime of the year.
2. Pair it with dark jeans. (My exact jeans HERE.) I’m totally a broken record here, but dark wash jeans are the easiest way to dress something up. You can totally wear lighter jeans with a plaid shirt and still look dressier, but if you have any doubt or worry, the safe bet is dark wash jeans. (I reviewed the pair in this outfit HERE.)
3. Pair it with a leather jacket. (similar, similar) I know leather jackets, especially black ones, come with their own stigmas of looking really tough, but a leather jacket can dress up almost any outfit! (See HERE for ways I’ve done this repeatedly.) It’s my go-to for a dressy-casual look. I included a couple jackets from Nordstrom in the widget below, but I actually really like THIS ONE because it has a pretty waterfall type of drape. It gives it a softer feel and you’d be a lot less inclined to be mistaken for a biker. 🙂
4. Add heels. A must for dressing up a plaid shirt! You can do neutral heels, but you know how I love a pop of color, so I went with my trusty cobalt pumps. (Similar heels HERE.)
Now, which upcoming party will you dress up plaid for?
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