Barbara Reid of Maison Monique maisonmonique.co.nz

Welcome to December and the festive month's edition. It now appears summer is really on the way, strong winds have abated and daytime temperatures are rising.

The time has come to organise what to wear for all the end-of-year functions, Christmas day and general outdoor entertaining.

For the Christmas parties, why not consider a feminine look. These range from Chic tiered style to cleverly designed soft draping dresses. Give yourself the ‘good feel factor' by slipping on one of these dresses with elegant heels, quality accessories and get into the swing and enjoy the festive season.

Christmas day is a special time of the year when you want to feel cool, comfortable and classy. There are a good number of dresses available that fall into this category or maybe a skirt and top are more to your taste.

Outdoor entertaining is such an important part of the lifestyle in the Bay. Three-quarter pants, tops, tee shirts and tunics all play a major role in this type of dressing.

Casual unstructured jackets and fashionable cotton knits can be layered when it cools down or dressing up a plain tee. Lightweight cotton fabric tunics are so fabulously cool, easy to wear and fashionable. There is an extensive range of tops available, covering many different styles that can help you create many looks to suit the occasion. Stock up – you can never have too many tops.

On behalf of the Team at Maison Monique, Adele, Judi, Ward and myself, we would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas.