The biggest social season of the year is fast approaching, and with it comes a huge dilemma that many of us successfully ignore throughout the rest of the year: what on earth we should wear.
Christmas means office parties, family dinners, and drinks with friends you might not have seen for months, so itās only natural to want to look your sharpest for every occasion that might come up.
If youāre the kind of guy who usually dresses smart for work, while living in jeans and a t-shirt at the weekends, you might want to crank the sharp factor up a few notches if you want to look like your best, sharpest self this festive party season.
Dress to Impress this Christmas
Menās fashion and lifestyle blogger, Michael Adams, recommends dressing to impress as much as possible over the Christmas party season. This is the time of year when people get their most dressed up, so itās important to make more of an effort than usual when deciding what to wear. āWhat you wear plays a big part in how you feel when it comes to confidenceā, Michael explains, āand it doesnāt have to be difficultā.
Nothing is too over the top during the festive season. āItās Christmas!ā is the only excuse you need.
Michael advises investing in a velvet blazer, as itās something you can team with a roll neck jumper or shirt, and either dark jeans or smart trousers. Wear the blazer for your office party, Christmas dinner with the family and for New Yearās Eve, but mix up what you wear it with each time to feel like youāre wearing something totally different.
Christmas Prep: Experiment Outside of Your Comfort Zone
It can be easy to choose what to wear if youāre going out to a bar or a restaurant - you usually canāt go wrong with smart-casual. But what about when there isnāt a dress code?
This can be especially tricky when itās your work Christmas party, and the function room venue gives nothing away about how you should dress.
If this is the case, Michael recommends wearing something different to what you would normally wear to work to let your colleagues see a different side to you.
If you always wear a suit to work, go for something smart-casual instead; if you usually stick to navy blue or black with a blue or white shirt, step outside of your comfort zone with a pair of coloured trousers or a bolder, more patterned suit jacket. And if you normally dress fairly casually for work, let your workmates see you looking smart, sharp and dressed to impress.
To Glitter Beard or Not to Glitter Beard?
Take stepping out of your comfort zone one step further and consider a glitter beard - maybe not for a formal work night out, but perhaps to add a bit of festive cheer to an otherwise plain outfit for a Christmas night out with your mates.
If you pride yourself on your hipster beard, jazzing it up for the festive season can be a great way to show off your personality while still dressing smart - all eyes will definitely be on you.
Just make sure you know how to remove glitter from your beard before you get started - beard oil, or even regular olive oil from your kitchen cupboard, should do the trick.
How to Keep Your Facial Hair Smart
You donāt want to turn up to the Christmas party looking like youāve overslept, and overlooked your grooming routine. You might get away with it at work occasionally, but you never want to turn up for a night out looking dishevelled.
If you have a beard, make sure your beard neckline is trimmed neatly - you can keep it in check with the Gillette All Purpose Styler and Beard Trimmer, which lets you trim, shave and edge your facial hair using a choice of three interchangeable combs (2mm, 4mm and 6mm).
But if you prefer to be clean-shaven on a night out, or want to completely restyle your facial hair to give the wow factor, youāll want to achieve the smoothest finish possible, so use our most advanced razor yet, the ProGlide Razor.
If you often find yourself with razor bumps or razor burn after shaving, choose the Gillette SkinGuard Sensitive Razor instead. It has extra between the blade and your skin for a seriously smooth, comfortable shave. Use it with our SkinGuard Sensitive Gel for the best possible finish.
Remember that razor blades need to be as fresh and sharp as possible to help prevent nicks and cuts while shaving; keep your blade sharp, and youāll stay looking sharp too.