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It’s no surprise that St. Patrick’s Day is often just an excuse to party and drink lots of beer (cheers!), and I imagine it won’t be much different on a college campus. BUT I wanted to provide some alcohol-free ideas to celebrate for all of us minors. It’s easy to only look forward to the “big” holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, but why can’t we get hyped for the little holidays too? No need to discriminate. If you haven’t caught on by now, I’ll find any reason to dress up, throw a party, or put out decorations, and the seemingly-trivial St. Patty’s Day is no exception. So without further ado, here are some of my favorite green outfits and a handful of ideas to have a good time this weekend!
1. Buy Yourself a Claddagh Ring. For my 18th birthday, my uncle gave me a ring just after returning from a trip to Ireland. I had never heard of it before, but a claddagh ring is a traditional piece of Irish jewelry that has two hands, a crown, and a heart, symbolizing friendship, loyalty, and love, respectively. When you are single, you wear the ring on your right hand with the point of the heart facing your fingernails. When you’re dating, you wear the heart facing your body on your right hand. Similarly, you wear the ring on your left hand with the heart facing out when engaged and the heart facing your body when married. I love all the symbolism behind this dainty piece of jewelry, and it’s a great way to get in touch with your Irish side! You can shop a few claddaghs here, here, and here.
Outfit Idea: If you’re struggling with how to style green, pair it with a neutral jacket and a pair of jeans. Even though green is more of a cool color (and more likely paired with black), the above outfit shows that it looks just as cute with shades of brown.
2. Brew Some Butter Beer. Just because you may not be drinking real beer, doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a frosty pint of a yummy drink! So yah, *maybe* butter beer is a nerdy Harry Potter thing, but I tried some the other day (yes, at an HP event—nerd status accepted) and it’s actually quite delicious. Here’s a recipe to get you started. Plus, it at least looks like beer and you can drink it from a pint glass, so you’re basically celebrating just like everyone else!
Outfit Idea: I feel like you can’t get any more subtly-Irish than the outfit above—I mean, rocking orange AND green without looking like a leprechaun? It takes a special color combo to pull that off. Olive green is a great option to wear for St. Patty’s Day if you don’t own any bright shades or if the color just isn’t your style. If I had instead paired this dress with a kelly green jacket, for example, then I definitely would’ve looked like a tacky interpretation of the Irish flag.
Outfit Idea: Another untraditional yet festive way to wear green is to opt for a sea-foam or mint shade, like this t-shirt. It’s more subtle and the pastels are perfect for spring!
3. Sing Old Irish Drinking Songs. One of my favorite memories from high school occurred when I was a mere sophomore. Instead of a study hall, I was the only person in my philosophy class who decided to ditch and go to my old teacher’s room (a seriously wacky but extremely fun man) to sing Irish drinking songs with upperclassman—completely sober, I might add. Even though I didn’t know anyone except for the teacher, who was rocking back and forth sitting criss-cross applesauce on his desk and serenading us, it was the camaraderie of the moment and the way the pretty music brought us together that created a lasting memory. So grab your friends, your butter beer, a guitar, and some song sheets from the internet, and get singing! My favorite Irish song, even though it’s not a heavily drinking-based one, is Wild Mountain Thyme.
Outfit Idea: You can always keep your outfit simple by sticking to green accessories. The bold glass necklace shown above and the beaded JCrew belt made the perfect combo, and throwing on a jean jacket would transition this look into a stylish (but warm enough) spring outfit.
Outfit Idea: This spring look was one of my funkiest from last year, but I loved how all the different elements came together! The unique shade of this green cardigan makes for the best light layer, and pairing it with jeans and sandals transitions it from a work-wear piece to a weekend appropriate item.
4. Paint Your Nails Green. Of course, any holiday wouldn’t be complete without matching finger nails. Here are my favorite green polishes available right now: this hunter green shade, a mint shade, and this bold kelly green color. If you’re real fancy, you could even try painting on a clover!
Outfit Idea: Another great shade to rock for St. Patty’s Day is hunter green, like these pants. The dark color is less bold and more easily paired, and one of my favorite color combos is actually hunter green and light pink!
5. Watch a Movie Starring an Actor with a Hot Irish Accent. I think it’s pretty difficult to dispute that Irish accents are just so lovely to listen to, whether coming from a girl or a guy. For example, I adore hearing Saoirse Ronan speak! But furthermore, what better way to spend the night of St. Patrick’s Day than watching some cheesy rom-com with an Irish actor? If you’re looking to cry, you can view P.S. I Love You (yes, it’s on Netflix, and yes, I know Gerard Butler is Scottish, but in this movie he’s Irish). Leap Year with Amy Adams is another fun choice to get a taste of Ireland and the awesome accents. And finally, we can’t forget the cute and awkward cop from Bridesmaids. What a classic. What can I say, I just love me a good Irish accent!
Outfit Idea: And of course, we can’t underestimate the power of a good print. This green striped tee is one of my absolutely favorite shirts, and I actually wore it last year on St. Patrick’s Day layered beneath a green studded and leather jacket along with leopard rain booties!
For more posts on dressing for and celebrating the holiday, check out the links below!
Tips for Wearing Green on St. Patty’s Day When Green Isn’t Your Color
How do you plan on celebrating St. Patrick’s Day this weekend? I hope you’ll be wearing green so you don’t get pinched! I’ll also probably jam out to Macklemore’s “Irish Celebration” because it just seems necessary, ya know?
Anyway, have a great Monday!
Miles of smiles,
Grace
Outfits in Order of Appearance: Green Striped Tee and Black Shorts // Black Printed Dress with Green Belt // Green Leopard Top and Anorak Jacket // Black and White Checkered Top and Green Cardigan // Orange Dress and Green Military Jacket // Seafoam Green Tee and Grey Jeans // Grey Sweater and Green Pants // Green Leopard Blouse and Black Shorts
First off, ALL of your outfits are so cute and holiday appropriate! Secondly, I’m not much of a drinker so I’ll definitely give these ideas a try!!
Lizzie
http://www.lizzieinlace.com
Thanks so much Liz!!