Catherine Smith Licari

This week on Wynne's World, we have the pleasure of meeting Catherine Smith Licari. Catherine is an entrepreneur based in New York City who works in the fashion industry and specializes in finance for emerging brands. She is the Founder of several companies including Plan de Ville, an e-commerce site for emerging luxury fashion designers, PDV Advisory, a financial consulting firm, and Cash Flow for Creatives, a financial literacy company helping creative entrepreneurs and business owners learn how to manage cash flow with ease so they can focus on consistent monthly growth. She attended Parsons The New School for Design and Columbia Business School and lives in Manhattan with her husband and labradoodle, Penny!

I absolutely adore Catherine's chic & sophisticated sense of style, and I'm so happy that she agreed to share her holiday plans with us.

Heidi: Could you please share your top five holiday wardrobe favorites? What will you be wearing this holiday season?

Catherine: For the holidays I love wearing a statement dress and the last few holiday seasons I have gravitated toward very feminine dresses, usually with texture and prints and often a touch of velvet! This holiday season I’ll be wearing dresses from my friend Nicola Bathie’s recent collaboration with Antonio Melani, velvet Mary Jane flats from Margaux, and leather leggings paired with dreamy cashmere - including pieces from Heidi Wynne!

1. Statement dresses with feminine details
2. Velvet flats - perfect for feeling festive yet comfortable while traveling and cooking! Love the Mary Janes in Velvet by Margaux
3. An elevated matching lounge set for relaxing with family and friends
4. Leather leggings
5. Cashmere wrap from Heidi Wynne

Heidi: Could you please share with us 3-5 of your holiday beauty essentials?

Catherine: I am always so focused on moisture for my skin, so as temperatures drop outside and go up inside, it is more important than ever to continue to properly nourish my skin. I love The Ordinary’s Squalane Oil and U-Beauty’s Super Hydrator which are on high rotation in my routine, used for both day and night. I also add in Weleda Skin Food for nighttime in the holiday season, it’s all natural and affordable and I love the scent!

When it comes to holiday celebrations, I do always love to get a blow dry (guilty pleasure!) and integrate a berry lip color and often a bronze eyeliner or cream shadow for a bit of sparkle - I’m loving Ilia’s chromatic cream shadows right now!

Heidi: What are a few of the gifts you will give during the holiday season?

Catherine: I love to give monogrammed gifts, and typically fall in love with one item that I love to gift to my nearest and dearests. In the past I have chosen monogrammed travel leather jewelry trays (the type that fold down flat in your suitcase, so handy!) or monogrammed LL Bean Boat & Tote’s (I find that these are SO useful and not often something my friends would purchase for themselves, but love receiving as a gift!). This year I am thinking of gifting framed photographs from our recent wedding in beautiful frames - group shots of our best friends and solo candid portraits of the gift recipient. Our photographer Heather Waraksa did an absolutely unbelievable job of capturing our day and our loved ones, so I can’t possibly think of a better gift this year!

 LL Bean Monogrammed Boat Tote

Heidi: What are you reading this holiday season?

This holiday season I am focusing on enjoying the calm - I am currently working my way through Reese Witherspoon’s recent book club suggestions! I love reading on my Kindle and take it everywhere. I recently polished off several Tina Brown books, as I love reading any and every book available on the British Royal Family! 

The Palace Papers by Tina Brown

Heidi: Could you please share with us a few of your favorite holiday entertaining tips?

Catherine: I absolutely love helping in the kitchen - my husband and I usually travel to visit our families and so we love to help with certain recipes or bring dishes to our family celebrations. I LOVE making different kinds of vegetable dishes and I find that our hosts are usually focused on the turkey so the help is welcome! I also love to create a signature cocktail with a special garnish - like a sprig of rosemary with fresh cranberries. I also fancy myself an amateur florist, so I’ll head to the Dutch Flower Line on 28th Street in New York City and pick up a selection of blooms to create floral arrangements that add a lovely element of festive cheer.