Feeling Festive: Fair Isle, Plaid, & Headbands

fair isle camel red plaid headband bean boots preppy holiday — Outfit details:
Jacket: Derbe (German brand, similar one here) | Sweater: J.Crew Factory | Denim: H&M (runs REALLY small, I sized up to a 27/30, normal size is 25) | Boots: L.L.Bean | Headband: J.Crew Factory (sold out, also here) | Lip color: MAC in Ruby Woo

Y’all, how are we halfway through November, already?? I feel like it was just starting to feel like fall, and October just blew past us, and now we’re staring at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

fair isle camel red plaid headband bean boots preppy holiday j.crew

I’m currently sitting in my new favorite coffee shop, trying to gather my thoughts for this month–my sister-in-law is coming to visit for Thanksgiving, I need to get a jumpstart on my holiday shopping, is it acceptable to blare Christmas music, yet?

I saw this meme on Facebook about Thanksgiving NOT being skipped…are you the person who puts up the tree the second November 1st rolls around, or do you wait (somewhat) patiently until Black Friday to decorate?

Or are you in a third camp, like me, and try to find that balance in between? The colder weather we’ve had, recently, has me wishing for the holiday season, but I am not ready to rush into winter…C’mon, fall just started a couple weeks ago, here in the Bluegrass!

Buuut the magic of Christmas decorations, wrapping presents, eating too many sugar cookies, and all the fair isle and plaid a girl could possibly want? I wouldn’t mind kicking off that part of the Christmas season ;).

Since our Thanksgiving dinner is going to be relatively small, I am having a hard time deciding between a more relaxed atmosphere or going all out for Turkey Day! I personally love decorations, setting the table, festive outfits, etc., but sometimes it’s nice to take a more laidback approach every once in awhile. Do I break out the plaid tablecloth, or stick with a more fall-appropriate gingham? Do I wear the red plaid dress, or stick with the camel fair isle?

Or what about camel fair isle with a plaid headband??

Y’all know Blair Waldorf is my spirit animal, so headbands are a MUST this holiday season! I mean, can we talk about this plaid headband??? J.Crew Factory is killing it with their holiday pieces (obsessed with their blackwatch pieces!!), and I did not hesitate to purchase this headband when it was released! Mine is currently sold out, but J.Crew retail has an identical one for just $3 more than what the Factory version cost. The only difference I can tell between the two is that the retail version is slider wider than the headband from J.Crew Factory.

And while we’re on the topic of headbands and J.Crew, I also purchased this satin bow headband in both the alpine green and the red currant. The bow is slightly oversized, but it doesn’t stick up from the band so it’s a bit more subtle than one would think with an oversized bow. The alpine green headband has probably been my most-worn accessory this fall…and my red plaid knot headband is quickly becoming my most-worn holiday accessory!

So while we’ve still got some time between now and Christmas, and I am not about to forget Thanksgiving, I’ll have to satisfy my holiday sweet tooth with pops of plaid here and there (currently salivating over these plaid loafers & these pumps)! And you know I can’t say no to a good fair isle, either, so there will be plenty of that showing up! This camel fair isle turtleneck and this colorful fair isle pullover are also recent purchases that I am very happy with! Both sweaters are soft, not at all scratchy so there is no need to layer another shirt underneath.

Plaid something + fair isle something is the outfit formula I’ll follow for all the holidays in the foreseeable future, and I have no apologies to make!