Men's Christmas Outfits, From Christmas Eve Dinner to the Day After

The best men's Christmas outfits put the holiday into one piece and keep everything around it plain. On Christmas Eve that piece is a velvet jacket in bottle green, midnight or plum, worn over a fine roll-neck or an open white shirt with gray flannel trousers. On Christmas Day it moves into the knit: a Fair Isle cardigan, a raspberry cable or a burgundy crewneck. At church it shrinks to a tie or a pocket square, and on the afternoon walk it becomes a cashmere scarf. This year Christmas Eve falls on a Thursday, Christmas Day on a Friday and December 26 on a Saturday: three days and six or seven moments to dress for.

Below: a plan for the whole weekend, the rules that keep red and green grown-up, then each moment with the pieces we would buy for it.

Men's Christmas outfits for every moment of the weekend

Festive color for men, worn with restraint

A man in a red sweater, a green tie and a tartan scarf looks like he is in a play. The same three pieces spread across three days look like taste. Five rules keep it that way:

1. One piece carries the holiday. The velvet jacket, the red knit or the green tie: choose one, and keep the rest gray, navy, black, cream or ivory.
2. Deep shades last past December. Bottle green, burgundy, port and plum look like Christmas by candlelight and like plain good taste in February. Keep bright red for knits and scarves, where texture softens it.
3. Texture counts as festive. A black velvet jacket over a black roll-neck needs no color at all.
4. One pattern per outfit. A Fair Isle knit, a checked scarf or a paisley velvet jacket, never two of them.
5. Motifs only by invitation. Reindeer and flashing lights are for the party that asks for them. When an invitation says "Christmas sweater", a Fair Isle answers it and still looks right at lunch the next day.

Before you choose the shade of a knit, our guide to the best cashmere sweaters for men explains how to judge the knit itself.

Christmas Eve outfits for men: the velvet jacket

Christmas Eve is the evening many families dress for: a long dinner by candlelight, sometimes a late service, and the photographs everyone keeps. It is the night for velvet. Our men's holiday party outfits guide explains how lapels and pockets make a velvet jacket a dinner jacket or a blazer; at a family table the question is what you wear with it.

Wear it as a sport coat, not half a tuxedo. With gray or charcoal flannel, a velvet jacket looks relaxed and intended; with satin-striped evening trousers it looks as if you lost the bow tie. Underneath, a fine-gauge roll-neck or crewneck, or a white shirt open at the collar. A tie is optional at home.

Choose the color by the room. Brioni's single-breasted jacket in bottle-green cotton velvet, with peak lapels and a double vent, is the most Christmas of the group without a trace of red. Brunello Cucinelli's navy jacket in cotton and silk velvet, with tonal pinstripes and a shawl collar, sits closest to evening dress. Fendi's black tuxedo-inspired jacket is cut from low-pile cotton velvet with grosgrain trim, and its listing notes a buttoned strap that lets you wear it unbuttoned. Etro's navy jacket carries a paisley micro-print, so keep everything else plain.

Velvet for the daytime. Two jackets are matte enough for Christmas lunch too: Canali's double-breasted rust corduroy velvet, and Brunello Cucinelli's denim-effect cotton velvet, which reads as faded denim from a step away.

The velvet suit is for the host. Tom Ford sells its Atticus jacket in deep purple cotton-blend velvet with matching straight-leg trousers. Worn together at your own table, it is your prerogative; at someone else's, split it.

Two practical notes. Brioni's listing says the jacket comes with unfinished cuffs, so order early enough to leave a tailor time for the sleeves. And velvet holds the creases of a three-hour dinner: we hang it in a steamy bathroom overnight rather than press it, to keep the pile standing.

• A bottle-green velvet jacket, an ivory fine-gauge roll-neck, charcoal flannel trousers and black velvet loafers.
• A midnight shawl-collar velvet jacket, a white shirt open at the neck, mid-gray flannel trousers and black calf oxfords.
• A black velvet jacket, a burgundy cashmere crewneck, gray chalk-stripe flannel and black velvet slippers, at your own house.
• A rust corduroy-velvet double-breasted jacket, a cream crewneck, mid-gray flannels and dark brown suede loafers.

What to wear to church on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning

Church is part of the holiday for many families: in a 2024 Lifeway Research survey, 47% of Americans said they typically attend church at Christmastime. A Christmas service usually means a cold walk from the car, a full, warm church and an hour of standing, sitting and often kneeling. Customs differ, so as a guest dress a notch above your guess: a dark suit or a flannel jacket with a tie, polished black shoes and an overcoat you are happy to keep on in the pew.

The tie is where the holiday goes. A knitted silk tie in burgundy, like Brunello Cucinelli's with its fine diagonal rib, is matte enough for daylight and dark enough for a late service. A plain bottle-green silk from Prada, with a 7-centimeter blade, is the quietest green there is. Zegna's olive tie in wool and silk mélange belongs with flannel. For a Christmas pattern without the sweater, Brunello Cucinelli makes a Fair Isle tie, intarsia-knitted from virgin wool.

Two things people forget. A pocket square should never match the tie: Kiton's raspberry paisley silk beside a green tie, or plain ivory when the tie is patterned. And where there are kneelers, the soles of your shoes face the pew behind you, so new Christmas shoes should lose their price sticker first.

• A charcoal flannel suit, a white shirt, a burgundy knitted silk tie, black calf oxfords and a navy double-breasted overcoat.
• A navy suit, a white shirt, a bottle-green silk tie with a dark red pocket square, and black oxfords.
• A gray flannel jacket, a pale blue shirt, an olive wool-and-silk tie, charcoal trousers and black lace-up boots.

More shapes and widths are in our men's ties, and our guide to church-appropriate clothes covers the customs in more detail.

Christmas morning at home: before and after the presents

Christmas morning needs two outfits: the one you open presents in, and the one you change into before the first guest arrives. The first will be photographed more than almost anything you wear all year, which is the case for real pajamas over old sweatpants.

Pajamas that photograph well have a collar, long sleeves and piping. Zegna's Cashco pajama shirt is 85% cotton and 15% cashmere with a stand collar and tonal piping; its listing asks for professional dry cleaning. Dolce & Gabbana's striped cotton-and-silk pajama shirt comes in dress-shirt collar sizes, 15 to 17.5; its elbow-length sleeves suit a house that runs warm. Versace's emerald terry robe, with the Medusa head on its back, is the loudest piece in this guide and the right kind of loud for one morning a year.

The dressed alternative is a cashmere hoodie and joggers. Brunello Cucinelli's burgundy hoodie in pure cashmere has a two-way zip and, its listing says, can be hand washed; the house's navy English-rib joggers go with it. Givenchy's hoodie is a sturdier 70% wool and 30% cashmere. Tom Ford's lounge trousers in Bengal-striped cotton and silk have double pleats over the elastic waist, so they pass for trousers when the doorbell rings.

The robe and pajamas are one-morning pleasures that last for years; the hoodie is what you will wear most in January. Either way, change before lunch: whoever answers the door should be dressed for the meal.

Browse more in men's pajamas and robes.

What to wear on Christmas Day: the festive knit

Christmas Day lunch with family usually sits a step below Christmas Eve. The jacket comes off and the knit carries the outfit, festive either by a traditional pattern or by a single holiday color.

Fair Isle and Nordic knits

Fair Isle is the Christmas sweater a grown man can wear. The Victoria and Albert Museum traces the 1920s vogue for Fair Isle sweaters partly to the Prince of Wales, who wore one as golfing attire, at a time when natural shades of brown, gray and white were preferred. Traditional knitters, the museum's record of a Shetland jumper from about 1931 notes, use no more than two colors in a row; the motifs, crosses, diamonds and eight-pointed stars, run in horizontal bands.

Wear the pattern once and pull a solid from it. Thom Browne's shawl-collar cardigan in pure cashmere, black with an ivory Fair Isle motif, works as the jacket at a relaxed table. Brunello Cucinelli's Nordic jacquard crewneck, navy banded in oatmeal and gray and knitted mostly from alpaca, belongs with gray flannel, and Moncler Grenoble's black geometric jacquard is heavy enough for the walk afterward. These are thick knits: wear them alone or under an overcoat, never squeezed under a tailored jacket.

One holiday color

With a solid, the shade does the work. Kiton's cashmere crewneck is diamond-cabled in a muted raspberry; Moncler's, in wool with 10% cashmere, is a clear, bright red. Tom Ford's fine-gauge forest green is thin enough for the velvet jacket on Christmas Eve too, and The Row's ribbed Ettore V-neck comes in a shade the house calls port. Brunello Cucinelli's plain burgundy cashmere crewneck is the one to buy once and wear every winter.

A note for the carver: a heavy cable sleeve will not stay pushed up and ends in the gravy, so carve in a fine knit pushed to the elbow or a shirt with rolled cuffs.

• A black Fair Isle cardigan, a white oxford shirt, charcoal flannel trousers and black velvet loafers.
• A raspberry cable crewneck, gray chalk-stripe flannel trousers and black suede loafers.
• A forest-green crewneck over a white collar, navy flannel trousers and black loafers.
• A navy and oatmeal Nordic sweater, mid-gray flannel trousers and black Chelsea boots.

See the full range of men's sweaters.

Trousers for a long lunch: velvet, flannel and corduroy

Velvet trousers under a plain knit are the most comfortable way to look festive at a long lunch, and quieter than a velvet jacket because the pile sits below the table. Jil Sander's midnight pair is cotton-linen velvet with an extended tab waistband; its listing gives a leg opening of about 16 inches, slim but not tight. Fendi's black velvet pair carries a grosgrain stripe, so keep it for evening. We hem velvet with no break, because where it bunches over the shoe the pile crushes and shines.

Flannel is still the default. Brunello Cucinelli's pleated chalk-stripe flannel in virgin wool and cashmere is the pair in the lead image; its black flannel trousers and Canali's both have drawstring waists that hide under a knit, and our men's Thanksgiving outfits guide covers the other ways to make room for a second helping. Kiton's burgundy corduroy, in cotton with 7% cashmere, is the festive alternative to gray; wear it with a gray or forest-green knit.

Drinks with the neighbors, and the Christmas party

The neighborhood open house, eggnog at five, drinks after the children are in bed: an hour or two standing in a warm room, coats piled on a bed. Dress between lunch and Christmas Eve: a jacket or velvet trousers, a plain knit, no tie. For a Christmas party with a dress code on the invitation, our holiday party outfits for men go code by code.

• A forest-green fine-gauge crewneck under a navy blazer, gray flannel trousers and black suede loafers.
• A burgundy cashmere crewneck, midnight velvet trousers and black velvet loafers.
• Brunello Cucinelli's denim-effect velvet jacket, an ivory roll-neck, charcoal flannels and black loafers.

A scarf in a color nobody else is wearing is how you find your coat on that bed at the end of the evening.

The Christmas walk: coat, scarf, gloves and boots

The walk after lunch depends on where you are. NOAA's map of the historical odds of a white Christmas, built from the 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals, puts the best chance of at least an inch of snow on the ground on December 25 in places such as Minnesota, Maine, Upstate New York and the Rockies; its darkest band, under a 10 percent chance, comes with an apology to the West Coast, the Gulf Coast and the Deep South. In the snow belt, wear boots with a rubber sole; everywhere else, frost and wet grass still finish off a velvet loafer.

The coat goes over the lunch knit, so try it over your thickest one. The sleeves should cover the knit's cuffs, and reaching forward should not pull the back tight across your shoulders. Brunello Cucinelli's double-breasted coat is olive virgin wool with a red lining, so the holiday shows only when it opens; wear it over all gray. Tom Ford's double-breasted pea coat, a bright indigo blue cut to the hip, has a buttoned throat latch and, its listing says, a satin lining that makes it easy to layer over tailoring. Dries Van Noten's oversized Rascott is gray micro-check tweed flecked with color, and Canali's single-breasted Nuvola is wool and cashmere with a softly deconstructed build.

The scarf is the safest place for red or a check. Prada's double-face cashmere scarf in dark red measures 11 by 70 inches, its listing says, long enough to loop once and still hang. Burberry's fringed scarf is the house check in green, and Fendi's navy cashmere scarf has an ivory reverse, so it changes with the coat.

Gloves should be lined. Zegna's Secondskin gloves are calfskin lined in cashmere; the listing says not to wash or dry clean them. Tom Ford sizes its leather gloves in numbers: measure around your knuckles, thumb left out, and check the house's chart, because glove sizes vary from maker to maker. A gray or green beanie with cashmere in the knit goes in the coat pocket at the door.

For warmer and longer coats, see the best men's winter coats; for the snow itself, the best men's winter boots.

December 26: the day after, and Boxing Day

In Britain, December 26 is Boxing Day, a public holiday. This year it falls on a Saturday, so the UK's bank holiday moves to Monday, December 28. In America it is simply the day after: leftovers, a longer walk, a drive home. Dress for a good Saturday: the Nordic sweater from Christmas Day with dark jeans and black Chelsea boots, or the burgundy hoodie under the overcoat. Traveling home, wear the coat and boots and pack the velvet.

New Year's Eve falls the following Thursday. Our men's New Year's Eve outfits pick up where Christmas leaves off, with more shine and later hours. To plan all three days at once, tell our AI stylist which moments you are dressing for and what is already in your closet, and it will build the outfits around them.

Christmas shoes, from the fireside to the frost

Four kinds of shoe cover the whole weekend.

• Velvet slippers for your own house. Tom Ford's striped black velvet loafers are cut low like a house slipper, on a leather sole with a quilted insole. They are a host's shoes: perfect at your own table, too much at someone else's.
• Velvet loafers for dinner and lunch. Manolo Blahnik's Carlton carries an embellished ornament on a black band; the house's Mario is plain black velvet with grosgrain trim, sold in UK sizes, so check the conversion before you order. Tom Ford's Steven loafer is the one in color, an emerald velvet: wear it as the outfit's only holiday piece, with all gray or all black.
• Black calf oxfords for church. Ferragamo's Trinity oxfords are smooth leather on a leather sole, the shoe for a suit and a tie.
• Boots for the walk. Prada's black leather lace-up boots sit on a deep rubber lug sole. Christian Louboutin's Cavernos Chelsea boots are black suede on the house's red rubber lug sole; we would spray the suede with a protector before the first wet walk.

Our routine for velvet shoes: a soft brush with the pile, cedar shoe trees, and no wet streets. For every loafer style, see our men's loafers.

How we chose

• Velvet by its pile and its job. Cotton velvet for jackets that hold their shape through dinner, cotton and silk for the most formal, and two matte velvets for daytime.
• Knits that are festive by pattern or by shade, never by motif. The Fair Isle pieces use traditional stars and diamonds; the solids are reds, greens and burgundies.
• Color from the photograph, not the label. We dropped a crewneck sold as red that photographs rust, a pocket square listed as red whose ground is teal, an olive tie and a pair of gloves whose pictures did not match their listed colors. Where a listing's color name is wrong, as on Brunello Cucinelli's Nordic sweater, we describe what the photograph shows.
• Size runs. Every garment and pair of shoes had at least three sizes available when we checked on October 19, and we read each listing's fit notes, such as Brioni's unfinished cuffs and Dolce & Gabbana's collar sizing.
• Houses. More than twenty top luxury houses, nothing pre-owned, and no more than three pieces from one house in any edit.

Frequently asked questions

What should a man wear on Christmas Day?

A good knit with flannel, velvet or corduroy trousers and velvet or suede loafers. Make the knit the festive piece, a Fair Isle or one deep color such as burgundy, forest green or red, and keep the rest gray, navy, black or cream.

What should a man wear on Christmas Eve?

A velvet jacket in bottle green, midnight, plum or black over a fine roll-neck or a white shirt, with gray or charcoal flannel trousers and black velvet loafers or oxfords. Add a tie if dinner is at a restaurant or a formal table.

What do men wear to church on Christmas?

A dark suit or a flannel jacket with a tie, a white or pale shirt, polished black shoes and an overcoat. Put the holiday color in the tie or the pocket square, and if you do not know the congregation, dress a notch above what you expect.

Can men wear velvet during the day?

Yes, at Christmas. Velvet trousers with a plain knit, or a matte corduroy velvet, look right at lunch; keep shinier velvets and shawl collars for after dark.

What colors should men wear for Christmas?

Deep holiday shades, such as bottle green, burgundy, port, plum and a clear red, one at a time and set against gray, navy, black or cream. Velvet and cashmere in black or charcoal look festive on their own.

Is a Christmas sweater appropriate for Christmas dinner?

A Fair Isle or Nordic knit is; a novelty sweater with reindeer or lights is not, unless the host asked for one. For a dressier dinner, wear the pattern as a cardigan over a shirt, or move it to a tie.

Keep reading

• Christmas outfit ideas for women
• Men's holiday party outfits by dress code
• Men's New Year's Eve outfits
• The best cashmere sweaters for men
• The best men's winter coats