If you’re planning ahead like I am — it’s onto Thanksgiving attire! (I have to admit something, though: this year, I skipped a part of Halloween. I usually send my children into school with little personalized Halloween cards and toys/treats/etc to hand out to their classmates — I love the ones Erin Wallace does! — but I just didn’t get to it. It felt like something I needed to say “no” to in order to say “yes” to other things? Instead of spending an afternoon tying sixty ribbons onto tiny cards with tiny toys, I was able to make space for something else. I can’t put my finger on the exact swap, but I’m hoping it was the afternoon we baked pumpkin cookies, or the family walk we took through fall foliage. I generally battle against a scarcity mindset, but I do think that it can be helpful to ask, when weighing the pros and cons of taking on even a small extra task, “What is this displacing?”)
Anyhow – onto planning what to wear for Thanksgiving, and other fall festivities. Above, you can see me wearing Doen’s new Milana dress, which they sent me from their latest fall collection, which launched today. (I also love this 70s-inspired silk georgette number. I saw it and imagined it with a velvet heel and a faux fur jacket at the opera? A girl can dream.). It is a lot like the puff-sleeved Rhodia in pattern and hand feel (both are breathable cotton voile) that I bought last month, but has a longer sleeve and sash that make it feel slightly better-suited to November. The neckline feels saucy, too. Either of those dresses are, in my mind, perfect picks for Turkey Day — easy to wear, flattering, polished but not too done-up. I took an XXS in both (I’m typically an XS, but find this brand runs a tad big), but I will say both of these are cut fairly narrow. They fit great, but just. So I would take your true size if you are at all worried/between sizes/etc.
A few other gorgeous dresses to consider for the occasion:
+Parterre’s Dorothea Dress. Love the color, the complex vintage pattern, the tailored cuff. This feels elegant and demure in the best way.
+This under-$200 OPT dress is selling quickly. I saw a chic pea wearing it to a fall party two weeks ago and she looked incredible. I love the length, the fitted bodice, the rich brocade-inspired pattern!
+Nina Blanc always releases fabulous, ladylike silhouettes in interesting patterns. I love this dress with a suede, heeled bootie. (Look for less with these.) I wore this dress in a tartan for Christmas Eve last year and loved that I knew I’d see no one else wearing it. Such an underrated label!
+This brown gingham beauty. So unusual!
+This Sue Sartor feels like the ideal pick if you’re somewhere a bit warmer this season. Like cranberry sauce in the South.
+Julia Amory’s short-sleeved coatue caftans are now available in cranberry and emerald green. I’d wear with a little velvet slipper or a suede boot like this.
+This Cara Cara dress is marked down to under $200 in very limited sizes. Such a great fit and pattern for the occasion.
+For a more casual vibe, I still can’t stop thinking about this gingham mini from Hunter Bell. Adorable!
+This Ulla J. dress I’ve featured ten hundred times. I can’t get over the pattern.
More Casual Thanksgiving Day Outfits (No Dresses!)
01. LELE SADOUGHI EARRINGS // 02. FARM RIO BLOUSE // 03. LOEFFLER RANDALL LEONIE FLATS // 04. LELE SADOUGHI HEADBAND // 05. STEVE MADDEN FLATS // 06. JENNIFER BEHR HEADBAND // 07. XIRENA JUMPSUIT // 08. DOEN NATIA CARDIGAN // 09. VERONICA BEARD CARDIGAN // 10. ASKK NY CORDS // 11. SCHUTZ ARISSA FLATS // 12. SAM EDELMAN MICHAELA FLATS
If you’re not into wearing a dress, I love the idea of a great pair of jeans with a fab fall top like this, this, or this; a fair-isle sweater; or a statement cardigan. A few other ideas for making a casual outfit festive for the holiday:
+A new headband like this or this;
+A striped cardigan that co-ordinates in with cords;
+Fall earrings that elevate a simple white blouse/top;
+A cord jumpsuit;
+A fun fall statement shoe like this, this, this, or this.
P.S. What are you in the middle of right now?
P.P.S. These cookies are insanely good.
P.P.P.S. “I’ve discovered in my 30s entire worlds I missed while hopscotching.”
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I am loving Doen’s moody fall floral prints! I’ve never shopped from there — but I have a very important question… 😉
Do their dresses have pockets? Both this one and the Rhodia are lovely, but I couldn’t find that detail on their website. Thank you!
Hi! These two do NOT have pockets! Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for you! xx
This dress looks absolutely incredible on you! Love your picks and the fact that you’re sharing “early” so I can get a head of what to wear this year! xx
Thank you so much! And glad I have some fellow “anticipators” who think/shop ahead like me!
xx