How to Dress for an Office Holiday Party

Happy Holidays! You just received an invitation to the office holiday party. What are you going to wear? Whether your holiday party consists of a banquet hall, a restaurant or an open bar, you will want to make sure your choice of attire is not over the top or underdressed. How do you make your personal style shine without becoming the subject of whispers and gossip?

Office Party Holiday Dress

Consider Your Usual Dress Code

The first thing you should do is try to identify the dress code of the party. This may not be an easy task since invites may be labeled as “casual dressy” or “show your holiday spirit”. While these cutesy phases look good on an invite, they can leave you looking too stuffy, underdressed or too showy like you just stepped off a misplaced runway. Nevertheless, you can usually choose an appropriate outfit by using the usual “office dress code, minus one” rule. For example, if your usual dress code requires you to look business professional then you should dress business casual for the party. If you generally dress business casual for work, jeans and a nice shirt should be appropriate.

Dress Conservative but Not Boring

Dressing for a holiday office party should not be overwhelming. The best advice is to keep your ensemble conservative. Perhaps a statement piece, such as a small candy cane pin attached to your blouse or a pair of men’s Menorah holiday socks, would be the right touch for your ensemble. If you are not usually the type of person to wear the color red, a holiday party is the perfect opportunity to do so. Pair a bold red top with black slacks and strategically placed Santa hat for an adaptable look. Go ahead and wear a little red dress but put a blazer over it with a colorful scarf. You can always take the blazer off once you get there and determine what is more appropriate.

Tips for Choosing an Outfit

While a cute holiday party dress might look great, be cautious about the fabrics and lengths. Avoid dresses and skirts with very short hemlines since it can be quite embarrassing to be caught tugging at your hemline when talking to your boss. Cute sweaters or long sleeve blouses look great with skirts but be sure the buttons are properly fastened on a blouse. You can use double-stick tape to keep everything where it is supposed to be on a V-neck top. Furthermore, check the lighting with sheer fabrics since sunlight and bright lights can “mention” your unmentionables.

SP

This entry was posted in Fashion and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Log In