Wardrobe Secrets: This Holiday, Green is the New Red

Juniper, holly, spruce, fir, evergreen, forest, dark billiard, or climbing ivy – it goes by many names. But the smoky, deep, mysterious, earthy shade of green that is showing up in holiday deliveries for many contemporary brands is delicious. For our money, it should totally displace red as the color of the season this year. We first encountered this shade – which looks great on everyone – when perusing the racks at Neiman Marcus. It’s not a shade that will jump out at you online. Even at retail, it’s quiet and shimmering, which is part of what we love. It feels festive, but not showy. Fun, but not loud. Grownup, but not dull. And it’s not shouting “holiday” in a way that will make you feel that you can’t wear it after New Year’s Eve.

This is actually a perfect shade for apres-ski that will take you straight through March. And hey, who cares if you don’t ski? You’ll look as if you do, and that’s totally fine.

Here are five great ways to incorporate this of-the-moment shade into your holiday party wardrobe and beyond:

Paige Premium Denim did a fantastic pair of high rise skinny party pants ($209) in this color – they have just the right amount of stretch and shine to make them both comfortable and chic – imagine that. We hadn’t looked at Paige for several seasons, and these were a happy surprise. We had a lively debate with our sales associate about whether the color was grey, chocolate brown, olive, or deep green. The brand calls them “deep juniper” – and we concluded that it’s one of those “Armani” colors that seems to combine all of the above in some mystical way that just works. We’re planning to rock them with black boots, but you could easily pair them with dark brown, grey, purple or a deep cabernet red. Winter white or ivory would be stunning with these.

Theory has a terrific long-sleeved silk shirt ($295) in this same shade (theirs is called “dark billiard,” which is very clever, actually). There’s also a version in that must-have fabric of the season, velvet. You already know that velvet is the Thing this season, showing up absolutely everywhere – boots, pumps, slacks, tops, handbags, scarves, even sneakers. That means the trend may be at its saturation point – so pick one or two items that you truly love, but don’t over-index. Serious buyer’s remorse is almost guaranteed if you don’t exert some caution.

Rebecca Taylor, always romantic, feminine and flirty, is true to form with its smocked velvet top in “army green” ($350) – this a lovely way to wear this color that will not remind anyone of the army. The brand is showing it with dark grey denim, and also suggests grey pin-striped dress pants.

Alice and Olivia by Stacey Bendet takes this shade of green from dreamy and romantic to late-night sexy by deploying it in a sequined camouflage pattern on a miniskirt ($395). The brand pairs it with an over-sized black velvet hoodie.

AG is offering a pair of skinny sateen jeans in “climbing ivy” ($178) that would also fit the bill nicely.

There you have it. A fresh take on holiday dressing that will power you well into the New Year. You’re welcome!

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