This year is about to come to an end. After a series of adventures, moments of joy, uncertainty, and life lessons, there are only a few holidays left in 2022. Thanksgiving is coming very soon. And this year feels particularly special because we have finally gotten together in many parts of the world after the pandemic's uncertainty. Also, after a tough midterm election with many races that were so close from the beginning to the final result, the big lesson is that, as a country, we are truly divided politically, which causes inevitable tensions among people around us.
But despite the inconveniences, we made it to this exciting time of the year. Pumpkin pies, salads, and several dishes will be cooked by families from different backgrounds in order to celebrate togetherness with their beloved ones. Today, we'll talk about some of the most important things to consider when you are thinking of your Thanksgiving clothes.
The Taste
There is a very common misconception in many families and traditions, where people think that you have to pretend to be someone else during family reunions. "Wear something tasteful; we are gonna see your cousins." In this attempt to wear something tasteful, we may choose clothes that make us uncomfortable and ironically make us look bad. It is true that taste is about wearing clothes that are appropriate for the occasion, which is why it wouldn't make sense to show up to a Thanksgiving dinner with your grandparents with a leather corset and a mini skirt. However, this doesn't mean that you have to completely ignore the clothes you like and the style you like to wear regularly. It's all about finding a point in between.
The Colors
In the middle of autumn, it makes sense to wear colors that remind us of the dry leaves falling from the trees, like oranges, browns, burgundy, or dark greens. These colors in rich textures are ideal for this time of the year. Depending on where you are spending this special holiday, you may need several layers of clothes, or you may only be wearing a shirt or a thin dress. Despite that, warm colors are definitely prevalent during this season, and the great thing is that you may not even need to go shopping for new clothes if you don't want to. A casual dress with the right shoes and accessories makes a perfectly appropriate outfit for a Thanksgiving dinner. A well-ironed shirt with pants and formal shoes is good enough to celebrate this holiday. Don't let the pressure of mass media and sales persuade you to buy clothes you don't need. More often than not, there is a combination of clothes in your closet that you have yet to try and is ready to make its debut this Thanksgiving.
The Classics
Fast fashion companies are encouraging the idea of buying a specific outfit for a Thanksgiving dinner. Under the name of Holiday Collection, these intelligent marketing strategies make us think that the dress codes for Thanksgiving clothes change year after year, which is entirely false.
Every fall, we see similar shades of browns and oranges, with some iterations when it comes to the textures and the shapes. For a couple of years, we saw velvet coming back and forth to the top popular textiles. Still, you can style clothes you already own in a way that looks different for this particular event. Pinterest and photos of previous years are a great source of inspiration.
The Comfort
Many people are ok with sacrificing comfort for a good-looking outfit. A corset and a pair of high heels look stunning when they are worn the right way. However, there is a place and moment for everything. The nature of the Thanksgiving dinner is to sit down for many hours to eat a lot of food, play games, and talk with the people at your table. After a few hours, some people might grab more food or drinks. While this happens, your body is processing all this consumption of food, which kindly requests clothing that is not so close to the body. So make sure that your Thanksgiving clothes balance fashion and comfort because if you don't feel good with the clothes you wear, it's very likely that you won't have a great time. Leave that beautifully draped dress that wraps around your waist for a time that won't involve so many carbs and drinks.
The Details
There is a certain expectation of looking flawless with your Thanksgiving clothes, but what if you spent the whole morning and early afternoon cleaning, running errands, and helping everybody else get ready for dinner? What if you want to look good, but at the same time, it wasn't a priority thought or something you didn't plan in advance? This is the time to let your imagination flow and work with what you have at home. Shades of lipstick that haven't been used, a tie that was hanging somewhere in the back of the closet, an interesting eyeliner, or formal footwear that you don't wear very often. These little things make Thanksgiving clothes different from your casual clothes. You are making a significant effort to look good, and that is amazing!
The Kindness
Your Thanksgiving clothes won’t matter if you show up with the wrong attitude to dinner. Thanksgiving is not the moment to claim about outstanding debts, previous feuds, remorse, or bad memories. Although in Political Fashion we understand, and acknowledge that all emotions are important and valid, it is what you do with these emotions and how you interact with others that can obstruct people’s intention to have a good time during this important event. Remember the great memories that you have had with the people around you, talk with love and gratitude about those who unfortunately are no longer with us this year to join us at the table, and remember that the main goal of this holiday is to acknowledge the things that you are thankful for.
Thanksgiving and life
A Thanksgiving dinner can be compared to many other moments of life. It is something that many people take time to plan in advance. It is something to look forward to, that is exciting, and that becomes a meaningful tradition to celebrate with beloved ones. But a Thanksgiving dinner, like many other things in life, can be unexpected. There are things that are out of our control, and all it takes is a little inconvenience to freak someone out and makes a big deal out of it.
The problem is that in our minds, everything is supposed to be perfect. Everyone would arrive on time, every guest would bring what they were supposed to, the meal would be good, and no one would start an uncomfortable conversation that made someone feel bad. In this perfect world, there is no room for errors, and things are supposed to be the way they are meant to be simply because that is our strong desire.
But people will arrive late, some side orders might be incomplete or entirely wrong, and an allergic member of the family might not be able to eat it. Someone might spill a glass of wine or maybe even a secret by accident, and perhaps even someone says something that makes you feel bad.
In Thanksgiving and in life, we need to let go of the perfect world. We need to let go of the idea that everything is supposed to happen the way we are planning it. If you identify as a perfectionist, sometimes this might seem like you are losing the battle against someone or something, and it sucks that you didn't get what you expected even though you worked very hard to accomplish it.
The idea of seeing your plans falling off because of something or someone that you have no control of is devastating, and there is nothing wrong with feeling frustration, anger, or sadness when this happens. Because as human beings, we are not meant to be happy all the time, and the last thing that we need when our plans get screwed is for someone to tell us, "but don't be sad."
Acknowledge your emotions, hug yourself, understand what you are thinking and feeling and be grateful for the great effort you have made to make it this far. At Thanksgiving, there are many different ways to be thankful based on spiritual beliefs and family traditions. But the one person that you should never forget to be thankful for is yourself. See how far you've come. See what you have accomplished. See what's coming in the near future and think about what happened this year.
It hasn't been all laughs and smiles. But we've learned our lessons and will come out of this chapter stronger.
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