She Kept Christmas

Picture this scenario. It’s mid-August and you are enjoying your summer holidays. It might even be sunny (though I’m talking about Ireland so probably not). You’re minding your own business when you hear on the radio or see it online – the Brown Thomas Christmas shop has officially opened. Whether you like it or not, Christmas is now the topic of the day. This is an unofficial tradition in Cork and Dublin that frustrates a lot of people. It’s also our first look at the trends for Christmas.

The shop that causes this yearly controversy is Brown Thomas. This is a department store that sells luxury homewares and designer fashion with branches around the country. Brown Thomas is one of the few shops that have a dedicated Christmas shop, and they are typically open it in August. Now I typically have very little dealings with Brown Thomas but I get a little giddy when the Christmas shop opens.

So, Brown Thomas arranges their decorations by themes. Several trees are set up around the shop decorated in those themes and nearby shelves are lined with those same decorations. And it is these themes that I want to talk about today.

(They are also famous for their window displays which are revealed later in the year but I will talk about them once they have been unveiled. I swear they are not paying me).

So this year, there are three main themes in the Christmas Shop.

1. Timeless Treasures
2. Midnight Magic
3. Vintage Noel.

Timeless Treasures.

So let’s start with Timeless Treasures. This is described on the website as “classic, sophisticated and warm” and as the “classic look of tradition”. The emphasis on the word “classic” here is apt as this collection is what springs to mind when someone mentions the words “Christmas” or “festive”.

This theme is built around ruby reds, vibrant greens and glittering golds for the picturebook Christmas. As well as leaning heavily into traditional Christmas colours, they are using traditional shapes and decorations too. This is the place for red velvet bows that hang off lush garlands. Here are the glass baubles, red velvet stockings and glittery gold trims.

Timeless Treasures is the idealised Christmas and because of this, it takes itself seriously. You will not find anything too stylised or cartoonish in this collection. As with all of these collections and trends, nothing is written in stone. You can add your decorations that might lighten the mood but this trend is aiming for sophistication.

Midnight Magic.

The Midnight Magic theme celebrates the natural world whilst maintaining an other-worldly beauty. According to the website, this theme is “inspired by the rich natural beauty of a Nordic sunrise and the Aurora Borealis”.

So the palette here is a wonderful mix of deep blues, warm whites, soft pinks and greens. This is a much chillier look than Timeless Treasures or Vintage Noel and I can see it working really well in an apartment or a minimalist home.

This theme is looking to the natural world for inspiration so many of the decorations are flowers, feathers or leaves. Many of the glass baubles are decorated with floral motifs. Some of the baubles are coated with white glitter or silver gems which gives them a snow-coated effect.

The influence of the Aurora Borealis is seen in the iridescent finish of some of the decorations, as well as the subtle touches of pinks and greens scattered throughout the collection.

Highlights from this collection for me areare a hand-painted glass bauble depicting a cabin in the snow. (Strong Bob Ross vibes here) and a deep blue poinsettias with silver trim. Also, as a bonus point, this trend might appeal to the Frozen fans in your life.

Vintage Noel

The third and final trend is Vintage Noel. This theme centres around Christmas in the 1980s and features “traditional string lights, pops of colour and nostalgic touches”.

Vintage Noel shares a similar palette to Timeless Treasures but dialled up to twenty. It also uses reds and greens but it has a lot more sparkle than the previous trends. It is more garish than the previous themes and the theming is more slapdash but it certainly evokes warmer memories in me than any other collection.

If Timeless Treasures evokes the ideal Christmas you see on film screens or picture books, then Vintage Noel evokes the Christmas’ we’ve all had growing up. These are the eccentric decorations that we all adored growing up. This feels like a mash-up of decorations built up over years. And it’s such a strange collection because on their own these decorations don’t work but they are charming when grouped together.

This theme also leans towards the novelty decorations that have been growing in popularity over the last few years. So if you have a lot of novelty decorations or if they are your style, then this trend may be for you.

What I do appreciate about this look is that there is no wrong way to do it. It’s a look that encourages experimentation and it’s emphasis on nostalgia means that once it looks right to you, that’s all that matters. This is the most playful theme by far.

My thoughts on the 2023 themes.

Timeless Treasures is a gorgeous collection but also a predictable one. And this is fair, a theme centred around tradition is going to feel a bit ‘samey’. As I said earlier, this is the definitive Christmas look so you will see it year after year, and in a lot of different shops. This becomes more obvious when you start seeing the same decorations too because there are only a few decorations suppliers in the market right now. But this look still delights me every time I see it.

The Midnight Magic theme feels a bit crowded and this might be because it is mixing three previous themes. Last year, Brown Thomas had four Christmas themes: Winter Magic, Glacial Lake, Winter Romance, and Natural Glow.

Winter Magic was very similar to this year’s Timless Treasures range. Glacial Lake was a theme built on deep navy, silver and golds. Winter Romance centred around soft pinks, burgundys and gold with a floral motifs. Natural Glow celebrated the natural world with golds, browns and creams.

Midnight Magic combines these three themes and is too broad as a result. Personally, I think would it would better without the pinks or greens.

As for the entire collection, I found that the selection had shrunk from previous years but the price has gone up. So bear that in mind if you do go for a look.

Conclusion.

Treat all of these themes and trends as suggestions. You don’t need all of those decorations, you don’t need any of these decorations. Whilst I love looking at the trends, I’m lousy at following them because I like too many different styles and colours. Maybe some of these schemes will work for you and what you already have, or maybe none of these appeal to you. But it’s always worth seeing what can be done.

So how about you? Are you excited by these themes? Could they work for you? Do you like decorations with single letters?

Until next time,

Sinéad.

Resources

https://www.brownthomas.com/home/the-christmas-shop/

https://www.corkbeo.ie/culture/christmas-comes-cork-city-130-27537554