The most beautiful aspects of fashion and personal style are the ones allowing you to leverage creativity: you can match colors, combine textures, play with over layers, add exotic elements, reinvent vintage pieces, modify lengths, add a ribbon, a special button or accessories. Apart from these, you can also recycle – as in to wear the same pieces in different outfits, build on recycling others in another season than the devoted one.

Today we thought to show you how you can re-wear and re-integrate in day outfits three pieces specific to Christmas: a red sweater, sequinned skirt and Scottish plaid trousers.

How to recycle – THE SEQUINNED SKIRT

You wore it at the company Christmas party, but also at several social events this winter. Congrats for your creativity and daring attitude! It is an extremely versatile pieces (much more versatile than a cocktail skirt), which means you should not wear it only when you go to parties.

A first styling recommendation would be to recycle it at the following holidays and anniversaries at the beginning of the year: the St. John’s one for example, at the birthday parties of your Capricorn or Aquarius friends, Valentine’s Day or any other festive occasion.

A second styling idea would be to wear the sequinned skirt at the following cultural going outs you have got planned: a theatre play, a concert at the matinee… The sparkle of the skirt will offer your outfit that elegant touch necessary for these events, without looking outdated.

To add a modern and less “evening look”, match the sequinned skirt with a simple black sweater and a pair of leather black ankle boots. You can also wear it with a white or beige turtleneck, golden earrings and a white cardigan.

No sequinned skirt in the wardrobe yet? The sales are a good moment to look for such a piece which you can wear at numerous events that you’ll attend during the year. Here are our recommendations:

Mango green skirt: 139,90 lei (reduced from 299,90 lei) | Mango black skirt draped with sequins: 249,90 lei (reduced from 299,90 lei) | H&M black skirt: 129.00 lei |H&M skirt with gold sequins: 89.90 lei (reduced from 159.90 lei) | Zara silver skirt with front node: 129.90 lei (reduced from 199.90 lei) | Zara animal print skirt: 129,90 lei (reduced from 199,90 lei)

How to recycle…THE RED SWEATER

Let’s imagine that the sweater worn in the evening you decorated the tree, you went out to sing carols and you tested a new mulled wine recipe. Red is associated with Christmas and the Winter Holidays, but a red sweater is simply a classic piece in the winter wardrobe. Like any knitted item, such sweater is at the intersection between casual, festive and smart casual.

To start with, we recommend you not to match the red sweater with a green item (scarf, trousers, skirt); there will be a Christmassy chromatic combination. Instead try to make some more modern, more creative combinations. Here are some ideas: red pullover + a fuchsia pleated skirt; the red sweater+ a pair of blue jeans; red sweater + a pair of dark violet trousers; the red sweater + a beige-camel dress; the red sweater + a printed item with red elements (plaid, floral, stripes)…

The following advice is about wearing the red sweater in over layers. The simplest option is to wear it over a white shirt, and to leave the manchettes and the collar visible . If you don’t have a white shirt, you can opt for a blouse with a small tall collar. We thought that the red sweater, if not too heavy and has a line at your sides, will be great under a vest dress or a dress slip. Last but not least, wear the red sweater over any midi, pleated or wide dress; this way, you transform the dress into a skirt.

If you have in your drawers only black and grey sweaters, during the sales period it is worth investing in quality knitwear. Besides, red is a color that never gets old-fashioned. Please see our recommendations:

H&M V-neck bright red sweater: 89.90 lei | H&M red pullover with naked shoulders: 79.90 lei (reduced from 139.90 lei) | Zara cardigan-sweater with pearl buttons: 69.90 lei (reduced from 99.90 lei) | Mango red mohair: 399.90 lei (reduced from 549.90 lei) | Mango red ribbed sweater: 99.90 lei (reduced from 159.90 lei) | Mango cotton sweater: 59.90 lei (reduced from 79.90 lei) | Stefanel cashmere sweater with a back bow 919.90 lei (reduced from 1.914 lei) | Stefanel cashmere large sweater: 1.214.50 lei (reduced from 2.428.80 lei) | Massimo Dutti red sweater: 159.00 lei (reduced from 239.00 lei) | Massimo Dutti cashmere red sweater: 579.00 lei

How to recycle … PLAID

Red and navy-blue plaid dresses, white, red, and green yellow plaid skirts, red and grey plaid trousers, green and navy-blue plaid shirts… We don’t know why, but Scottish plaid look inexplicably linked to presents and Winter Holidays.  Just like sailor stripes and leopard print, plaid is the type of print that never gets old. This means you’ll be able to wear these pieces all winter long, and even half of spring!

Depending on the item that you own, the styling and the style recycling at the beginning of the year will be different.

The plaid dress
– match it to biker boots, an oversized cardigan and a cross-body bag during the weekend;
– wear it with a quilted jacket, a fine turtleneck and leather sneakers, when going to the cinema at the mall;
– complete it with a pair of medium-sized and thick heels boots and a ribbed velvet blazer, for the office outfit

The plaid skirt
– match it to a light sweater, in one of the print colors and some fine heels ankle boots, when out to a romantic date
– wear it with a denim shirt and low heels ankle boots, in an ordinary day at the university
– complete it with a grey hoodie, sneakers and a backpack, for when meeting the girls for a coffee

Plaid trousers
– match it to a white shirt of masculine inspiration and Chelsea boots, when going to see your parents
– wear it with a black turtleneck and accessorise it with a black beret, when you want to look dressed vintage
– complete it with a silky black sleeveless top, a black velvet blazer, and sequinned ankle boots 3

You should have in your wardrobe at least one plaid item, do you agree? After a shopping spree, here are the items that we recommend:

H&M midi plaid dress: 129.00 lei | Zara mini plaid dress: 179.90 lei (reduced from 249.90 lei) | Zara large plaid dress: 149.90 lei (reduced from 199.90 lei) | Mango black – beige plaid dress: 139.90 lei (reduced from 199.90 lei) | Mango pink plaid dress: 249.90 lei | Mango plaid dress with bow: 159.90 lei (reduced from 249.90 lei) | Mango green plaid: 139.90 lei (reduced from 199.90 lei) | Massimo Dutti navy blue plaid: 579.00 lei

H&M cloche plaid skirt: 159.00 lei | Zara mini pleated plaid skirt: 129.90 lei | Zara conic green skirt: 129.90 lei (reduced from 199.90 lei) | Mango asymmetric skirt with pink plaid: 199.90 lei | BSB midi cloche skirt with plaid: 225.60 lei (reduced from 376.00 lei) | Massimo Dutti white-coral plaid skirt – 269.90 lei (reduced from 399.00 lei)

H&M slim plaid trousers: 59.90 lei | Zara large plaid trousers: 129.90 lei (reduced from 199.90 lei) | BSB high waist plaid trousers: 213.50 lei (reduced from 305.00 lei) | Marks & Spencer white-red plaid trousers: 149.90 lei (reduced from 224.90 lei)