Today I’m going to talk about what to wear for family photos. This is the time of the year when I’m getting text messages like crazy, people sending me photos of possible outfit ideas, and everybody just wanting some reassurance as far as what to wear for family photos because these are things that last for at least a year on your wall. So I wanted to give you a few of my styling tips to kind of help navigate your outfit decisions for your family photos. And also, I want to kind of say that these tips really work well for holiday parties or just get-togethers, that sort of thing. If you know there’s going to be pictures, use these tips to style yourself from head to toe. I partnered with goharphotography.com to make this article for two reasons. The first is that they have stuff for everybody.
I’m talking about men, women, children—you name it. So you can find something for your whole family if you can take family pictures or for yourself, from top to bottom, and it’s just for you for a party. The second reason is because it deals light, so they have vendors from all over, including some of my favorites like Simple Style. So I’m going to give you two outfit ideas just to make it easy on you. One is more casual, and the other is a little bit more dressed up. I want to start with the casual outfit. For casual clothing, I love to add lots of layers and textures and maybe even a few prints and colors, so for this look, I’m starting with something that pretty much everybody probably already has, which is just a natural nude or solid t-shirt and some leggings, or I’m wearing jeggings, which is like a denim legging.
I chose a pair of black ankle booties because this is something pretty much everybody will most likely have in their closet: a simple classic pair of boots. The next thing I’m adding is a lace vest, and this is fun for two reasons: one, it’s a contrast of colors. It’s really light and it’s going to stand out, and two, I like that it has a little bit of texture and it’s a different length than both the shirt and the little cardigan I’m wearing, so lots of dimension and I guess contrast to give visual appeal.
On top of the vest, I added a dark solid cardigan sweater, and I love that the sweater tapers down in the front because it’s still feminine, but it’s a good feeling, and it’s nice, light, and flowy. The final touch of this outfit is stacking lots and lots of jewelry. As you can tell, I love to stack. I stacked the rings. I’m stacking a necklace on top of a short necklace on top of the long necklace. I love this because, again, you can add different tones, textures, and colors, as well as just add layers upon layers to an already layered outfit.
For a more dressed-up look, I like to keep things nice and simple. When you’re going for a more formal outfit, if you have too many layers or add too much, it can start to look gaudy and clunky and a little bit too messy. And that’s not what you want when you’re going for a dressed-up look, so as a staple, I’m starting with this gorgeous nude dress. I love this dress. It’s flowy; it’s light weight. But it looks really elegant and classic. For the shoes, you can totally go with something like a classic black heel, but I’m just going to use a nude bootie because I love the, I guess, drop drama of having a monochromatic outfit with a nude dress and nude shoes and my almost nude hair. I think it’s just really impactful. And again, less is more with a more dressed-up outfit.
The only other thing I’m going to add to this look is some more layered jewelry. So I’m going to take a few dainty and simple gold bracelets and just combine them all together for a cute little feminine stack. And then I’m going to take a bunch of dainty rings and mini rings with some nude tones and some sparkle. And I will just layer those on my hand as well. I think that’s just really fun and modern, but it’s also classic. And to top off the accessories, I’m using two necklaces; one is really long, slender, and feminine, and the other is a little bit more textured. I loved that it’s two-toned metal, metallic. And I think they play really well together. Now that this whole outfit is looking very monochromatic with the nude and the gold, I wanted to do a really fun and dramatic pop of color. So that’s where you’re going to see the maroon lipstick and nail polish come into play.
I think these will look really gorgeous in photos. Your face will look incredibly striking. If you’re holding your kids or anything like that, the maroon polish is going to stand out. And I think it just makes it look really elevated and luxurious. So those are some quick tips to help you better prep for your family photos or your holiday parties. Definitely go check out Jane.com or even download the Jane app because you’re for sure going to find something fun to add to something that you already have. Or maybe you’ll find a statement piece, and you can use the items and accessories that you already have to dress up your look. Thanks for letting me share my tips with you. I would love to see how your family photos turn out, or if you’re going to a party, be sure to tag me so I can see what you’re look looks like, and I’ll see you guys next time.
PS: If you’ve found this article helpful, or if you know somebody who wants to commission a family portrait, please share those tips with them because that helps me out, and then they’ll love you for helping them out.