Carolyn J. Braden • 3 Minute Read
Patriotic Outfits, Hair, Nails, Beauty and Food Inspiration
When it comes to patriotic fashion, hair, nails and beauty, you can easily pull together a look or an event using the easy color combination of red, white, and blue. From the 4th of July or Independence Day, to Election Day, to Labor Day, Memorial Day, Patriot Day or perhaps the day you become a USA citizen, wearing the colors of the American flag will always be in style. Read on to get some of my easy ideas for your next patriotic look needs.
Johnny Cash, my dog, truly loves to be photographed!
Patriotic Nails
When it comes to patriotic nails, you can create a look like I did using gel polishes or just any nail polish. I incorporated red, white, and blue in my gel polish manicure that I created with Red Carpet Manicure and some small nail brushes. I use Red Carpet Manicure gel polish (you do need a gel curing light, base coat and top coat for this particular type of polish) because it lasts, it’s cruelty free and they have lots of beautiful colors. I get mine on Amazon here.
My 2024 4th of July nails
You can either do a full color, like red, or add some nail stickers (I add them to my toenails a lot when doing home pedicures) to add more color if you don’t feel confident in creating an artistic look yourself. Or, if you get your nails done at a salon, take along some screen shots of your favorite patriotic nail art and have them recreate it.
Patriotic Beauty
I love a simple red lip and a winged black liner create a beautiful patriotic makeup look. When you do a red lip, it’s a good idea to keep the rest of your makeup very simple. It’s also a great idea to keep your makeup simple and light if you are going to be outside during a patriotic holiday! I wrote about my favorite red lipsticks and how to apply it to make it last in this article here.
My 2023 patriotic makeup look
As for my winged liner, I always use KVD Tattoo Liner in Trooper Black. I have tried many, many other liquid liners, and this one always goes on cleanly, lasts all day, and the brand is cruelty free. The brush on the liner is the key. This one never flicks or pulls and I love it in the Mad Max Brown color too.
Patriotic Fashion
In 2024, I had an overwhelming amount of inspiration from rhinestones and all things sparkly, so I purchased an oversized sparkle t-shirt from Amazon. The nice thing about red, white, and blue themed shirts is that once you buy one, you can wear it year after year. I wore the shirt for the 4th of July with cut off shorts I made from oversized thrift store jeans. I’d also wear the shirt with jeans or leggings. I loop it through a belt loop to cinch it at my waist.
My full patriotic outfit for 2024
I usually wear my blue and white vintage bathing suit paired with a red, white and blue kimono style cover-up. You can find a similar one on Amazon. I like mine so much that I’ll also pair it with a white tee and jean shorts to wear out and about.
My fun sparkle USA shirt
Patriotic Accessories
I also love patriotic sunglasses and have several varieties. I like buying them in sets of 2 or more so my husband can join in the fun in wearing them. I created several red, white, and blue themed crafts that I will now wear on patriotic holidays.
My DIY headband and claw clip
I created a bejeweled sprinkle claw clip and a rhinestone headband and you can grab the tutorials on my website here. My light up star headband came from Walmart. You can buy a whole family sized set of cute patriotic headbands on Amazon. I’m always the person bringing the festive fashion for everyone….just ask my husband’s family!
Patriotic Shoes
I love my Melissa jelly shoes in the style Possession. I have a clear pair, so I can wear them with any color. You can check them out here on the Melissa website. They are super comfy…the comfiest jellies I’ve ever worn and they smell good too (yes, they are scented!).
My pup Johnny Cash and I modeling my Melissa jellies
I wore them for the 4th of July with super sheer tulle socks with shimmering stars on them. I got the socks on Temu. If you order from Temu, use my code afe55197 or this link for 30% off for new app users. Or you can find similar socks here on Amazon.
My husband and I enjoyed pineapple juice in our sippers…he loves pineapple!
Patriotic Food and Fun
On any warm weather holiday, we like to swim, play games and blow bubbles! I purchased a bubble “blaster” from Temu similar to this one on Amazon. I ordered non-toxic bubble solution from Amazon which worked perfectly and produced beautiful bubbles. I’ve decorated our home with a red, white, and blue balloon arch and have served red, white and blue foods.
This bubble blaster worked great and was fun!
We have lots of sippers that we pick up from Temu, Target and Amazon. I found our set of red and blue at Target, but Amazon has similar cups. We have disco ball sippers, pineapple sippers and more. I loved drinking out of this shaped type of sipper as a kid, so not much has changed!
See how I created my sparkler adorned Angel Food Cake (which can be created using a store-bought cake!) in the video below, see me create it here on my website with other patriotic inspired foods, or watch it via my YouTube channel @carolynjbraden:
It’s fun to get festive and I hope these ideas have given you some inspiration for your next patriotic holiday. You sometimes have to bring the joy of these holidays to you and your family, which makes for some great memories!
If you loved this article, we know you’ll love this one too: Warm Weather Fashion Trends: My Little Black Outfit Uniforms
Carolyn J. (C.J.) Braden is the owner of Carolyn’s Blooming Creations is a regular contributor and editor for CBC. She has been featured in numerous media publications such as InStyle Magazine, on HGTV, on Bustle.com, and more. She is the author of the books Georgia McMasters in Amethyst Lake Cemetery, How To Be Yourself: 3 Ways To Help You Being You, and the illustrator for the children’s book Bridging Connections. She is a former classroom teacher that now dedicates her life to educating others on how to live their most healthy, creative and happy life. Learn more about her visiting our About Us page.