Dressing For Your First-Ever COVID Christmas With Celeb Stylist Julianne Costigan + A Style Guide

Photo: Julianne Costigan

AB: You’ve worked with some pretty big names as a stylist, so what is your approach to styling the everyday working woman who comes to you or buys your style guide?

JC: Any client, public figure, celebrity, or woman who’s a CEO or executive that hires me, I approach them the exact same. I ask them about their goals, personally and professionally, and how they want to look or be perceived by people. I believe clothes are a way to communicate those goals to people. 

AB: What can STYLE Canada readers expect from your style guide? 

JC: Since people needed help refining what the best pieces were to shop online, we created a downloadable PDF that contains stylist-approved pieces at affordable prices. The guide typically features 20 pieces with a colour palette and styles all of them together in 30 different ways with things like nail colour recommendations and discount codes. It’s basically a cheat sheet or Coles Notes on how to have great style. 

AB: How can it help everyone prepare their holiday outfit choices for intimate Christmas dinners with immediate family to group Zoom calls for New Year’s?

JC: Each month, the guide focuses on what’s going on in the world. December has a holiday theme so that pieces can be mixed and matched for more formal and less-formal holiday looks, no matter if you’re at the cottage or doing a family Zoom party with champagne. There’s a look for that! Specific items are reintroduced each month as well so that you can learn how to restyle them into your wardrobe. 

Julianne Costigan’s Digital Style Guide

AB: How has the pandemic changed the way people would normally dress for the holidays?

JC: A lot of women were really excited about how casual things got in the spring and summer, but in the fall, people want to get out of their sweatsuits and put a little bit of effort into their beauty routine. When they do put effort in, they realize how good they feel. The holidays are a good excuse to wear the clothes they haven’t been. Women will want to stay comfortable, but not in the same way anymore. They’ll wear similar things to what they have in past years but in a more casual way; the sequin dress will now be a sequin tee instead.

AB: What trends have already emerged? Are there any that we can expect to see?

 JC: Now more than ever, people are excited to wear clothes they haven’t for a year at this point. The top half needs to be the focus: highlight a headband, puff blouse, or bow-adorned shoulder. People will be taking classic elements of how you would typically dress for the holidays and incorporating them into more comfortable silhouettes and fabrics like flannel, plaid, sequins, metallics, red … Things are being interpreted for the environment we’re in, which is kind of a reminder of the pre-pandemic world.

AB: Since face masks are necessary this Christmas, what can holiday dressing look like with PPE in the mix?

JC: Coordinate your accessories. Make your PPE feel like less of a burden on your outfit and just use it as another way to style your look! Chains are the new necklace, and some of my favourites come from Canadian designer ai. Etsy also has great affordable options, like these gold and silver chains. My favourite masks come from Canadian designer Nicola Lang, made from upcycled designer fabrics.

Read more about Julianne’s digital style guide here.