The holidays are almost over and now is the time to ponder resolutions for the new year. Since I have spent the better part of December wrangling my closet into some semblance of order, it seems like a good idea to make resolutions regarding my ever-expanding collection of clothes.

I resolve to institute a "cooling off" period before buying new pieces. I'm not including a set amount of time, but rather a commitment to stop, step back, and reassess before making new purchases. This could be as simple as putting items on hold at a store while I go eat lunch or saving the items in my online shopping cart until I've had a night or two to sleep on it. If I don't still love it once I've had a little bit of space, then I really don't need to add it to my closet. 

Do you have style resolutions? Share them in the comments and be sure to send all your fashion questions to me so that you can start the New Year on a stylish foot! See you all in 2015!

I can't believe that it has been almost two months since I last wrote a Guide To Elegance post! In the new year I will try to get this series back onto a weekly (or more realistically, a bi-weekly) schedule since there are some great chapters ahead. For those of you who may be new to the blog, these posts review chapters from Genevieve Antoine Dariaux's book, A Guide to Elegance, to determine if the old fashion rules still apply. The full introduction to this series of posts can be found here and previous posts can be read here. This week's topic is coats:

A well-designed coat is worth the extra time and money because it will last you several seasons and you will actually want to wear it for that length of time. However, this does not mean that you have to choose a bland style. For classic silhouettes in modern prints and fun colors, I am currently obsessed with Boden, but a trip to your local department store will also give you a variety of options.

Madame Dariaux suggests that there are four styles of coats that every woman needs to have in her wardrobe: a warm winter coat, a mid-weight wool coat, a raincoat, and a silk coat for evening. The only one of these that I think many women would find themselves lacking is the silk coat. In my opinion, more important than the fabric is the overall style of your evening coat. I had a black and gold jacquard evening coat that I wore for many years and absolutely adored. The best part of it was that it matched the formality of even my fanciest dresses so I never felt like my outerwear was ruining my overall look.

It is rare that I so whole-heartedly agree with Madame Dariaux, but a great color (or pattern) really can improve your mood. For wool coats I tend to choose a solid color, but my raincoats nearly always sport a bold pattern. The one exception to a brightly colored coat is when you are choosing a puffy, down coat. I used to have a bright coral down coat for winter but the bold color combined with the extreme puff of the coat made me look significantly larger than I am so when it was time for a change, I opted for boring black. But even if you choose a neutral color, you should still add on cheery winter accessories.

This should be your reaction to any new coat purchase. After all, coats are a more costly investment than many other pieces in your closet, so it should be practical and you should love it. What appeals to you in a coat may be something small, like a contrast lining in a fun color or pattern, detailed buttons, or even just a silhouette that makes you feel like a million bucks. 

Do your favorite coats fit in with Madame Dariaux's rules? Let me know in the comments!

Dariaux, Genevieve Antoine. A Guide to Elegance. New York: William Morrow, 2003. Print.

The current season requires us to be bundled up in warm coats and cozy accessories, but until we get another polar vortex or a foot of snow on the ground, your winter attire can, and should, still look stylish. These three items will improve your look without sacrificing warmth or comfort:

Holiday gift shopping is in full swing and chances are that you have people on your list that you are not looking forward to shopping for. Not because you don't like them, but because you have absolutely no clue what to get them and every idea seems way too generic. Well, have no fear. Today I will be suggesting gift ideas for under $20 along with ways to make a generic gift feel more personal. (Spoiler alert: it is all about what you write on the gift tag.) So whether you need a gift for a niece you haven't see in a couple years,  your new daughter-in-law who lives halfway across the country, or the coworker you've barely spoken to but managed to get in the Secret Santa drawing, I will help you look like a gift-giving pro.

The first thing on the agenda is to adjust your expectations by reminding yourself that the gift doesn't have to be perfect. You want to get them something that they will actually enjoy, but if you don't know much about them, that can be a tall order. So instead ask yourself the following two questions: 

1. Is this something they won't mind getting? 
2. Is there some way to connect this item back to something they like?

Obviously you would like the answer to both questions to be yes. The second question may seem difficult to answer, but with the hints that follow in this post you will be connect pretty much any generic gift back to what little you know about the person. With only a little bit of effort, you will be able to make a generic gift seem thoughtful.

With a couple sentences on the gift tag, you have transformed a generic gift into something that feels relevant to the person. It also helps to alleviate any confusion of why you gave someone the gift. If you don't know someone well, they may read a different meaning into the gift than you had intended. Writing more than just names on the gift tag will make it clear why you chose that item and help to prevent any hurt feelings.

I'm sure that some of you are still fretting about whether these gifts (even with thoughtfully written gift tags) are too generic. To make you feel a little better about this, I want to tell you a quick story about how gifts that are too specific can go wrong. I was at a holiday party that included a blind gift swap and the general premise of these is that all the wrapped gifts go in the center and everyone can pick a gift (and often this includes a period where gifts can be "stolen" and switched among the attendees). Most of the gifts were baskets of bath products or small jewelry, but there was one very large present. That present turned out to be a case of Fresca soda. It was brought with a specific recipient in mind, but due to the rules of the swap, that person did not end up with it (and there was a little bit of bitterness on the part of the person who did end up with it). So if you aren't sure that a unique gift will be a hit or you can't guarantee who will actually receive the gift, I think that it is better to go generic.

What are your favorite gifts to give people you don't know very well? Share your thoughts in comments!