A few years back I asked my mom if I could borrow one of her sweaters for RVA’s first SEC tacky sweater party. Her response? “I don’t own any tacky sweaters.” The reality? She was a kindergarten teacher for 35-years so of course she has a closet full of tacky attire! While the snowman sweater sufficed for the first year, I knew I could come up with something better the next time around.
I went to work making my now go-to tacky holiday party ensemble. A trip to Ross and the Dollar Store gave me everything I needed. I found a simple red dress on the clearance rack for about $5 and grabbed a few bags of bows and garland at the Dollar store.
I hot-glued each individual bow onto the skirt of the dress and then did the same with the garland along the base of the dress, sleeves and neckline down through the back. A few hours and a bunch of burns later, the dress was complete. Next, I took a plain headband and topped it off with a few bows. To accessorize, I made a bracelet out of ornaments. Side note: the first year I made the mistake of using glass ornaments, whoops! Needless to say, I switched it up after that. I found cute green, silver and red bow earrings and a ring at Charming Charlies, too. For under $20 in total, my holiday outfit was complete.
Last year I even added light strings to the skirt for some extra flair. Three years later, most of the bows have stayed on but I do tend to leave a small trail whenever sitting is involved: )
Phileo Life & Love 