Adora says: Don't dress up for Christmas

MANILA, Philippines - Here’s a rebellious concept: Celebrate Christmas in shorts and sneakers.

A true vacation is not to be had in the formal holiday meals with your overly extended family anyway. The anticipation lies in the getaway from the socials of December. Every year the obligations come full force. But every year, too, does the reward of “escape” open itself up for the taking. Visions of lying in your favorite beach or out-of-town weekend house replace the blurry car headlights of EDSA traffic. Adora says keep your eye on the prize and focus on the trip out of town. 

Inside Adora Men’s “Holiday Cruise” collection lies the twist: Informal in the middle of Christmas formals. Here are 10 key propositions of Adora.

1. Forget the heavy coats and sweaters. Enjoy the heat with a T-shirt done right, worn properly. Either on its own, or under a cardigan or pullover.

2. Feel the rawness of grass with everyday-use white sneakers. Adora has tons of sneakers to choose from, comfortable and on trend. 

3. Relax into your literal comfort zone in rough army shorts. Holiday isn’t just about bringing out your tuxedo pants, go with easy-wear shorts — be it in green, khaki or even yellow.

4. The lighter the better. Instead of thick hooded jackets, black formal slacks, Adora proposes dressed-down polos, lightweight jackets and light-colored cardigans. An array of selection at the men’s department. On jeans, as an example, the denim offer is from raw all the way to frayed, from dark blue, to acid wash. It’s yours to choose — with different fits available, all under one roof.

5. Go belt-less, Adora does not care. Wear your pants, shorts or bottoms with or without belts. Who says you have to match your belt with your sneakers. Who says you have to wear a belt at all during your holidays!

6. Socks are optional, matching is mixed, and shoelaces are untied. Honestly, it takes two minutes of your time to find your socks and put it on, and another three minutes two lace up your shoes. Do we really have five minutes to throw when all we want to is go out and look decent? In fact, wearing flattened-at-the-heel loafers-used-as-slippers is an approved look in Adora’s world.

7.  Roll the sleeves of your shirt and your suit jacket, it can be a bit warm, so roll them up while maintaining that tailored jacket look overall. Easygoing is the simple look of the new men’s lineup.  Throw a beige blazer over a check-print shirt and you are done. The hat is an optional touch, but right now Adora feels it’s a needed item for that getaway.

8. Even the vacation hand-carry is a throwaway bag that can show off its style by just being practical. Stuffed with crumpled clothes straight from the closet is essentially its main function. Right now, we call it the dump bag.

9. Never leave home without your shades, and Adora will surely have the perfect set for your face and needs. This time, don’t just keep one handy, keep three of them! Dress yourself up with sunglasses for the day, a gloomy day, or late afternoons. It doesn’t take much effort getting a pair and dumping your sunglasses in your bag.

10. Chinos, chinos and more chinos! Whether you like them fit, slim, carrot, tapered or relaxed, Adora will have one for you, and essential to the easy dressing no-brainer act of dressing up. Tucked-in shirts or not, it doesn’t matter. The point here is getting the right chinos that you are comfortable with.

 These are easy pieces that come together without the wearer having to put too much thought into it. And the enjoyable part of the holidays isn’t the dressing up for one get-together after another. It’s the dressing down that makes this time of year a wonderful relief. The Adora men’s collection swoops in perfectly as a friendly guide to welcoming the most important part of the season: the one that comes after.

All items are available only at Adora Department Store, second floor, Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center, Makati City.