Article Summary
Start with the dress code and what you'll be wearing at work. See what you can keep or change for an office reception, a restaurant dinner, or a cocktail party.
Read the Invitation Before Choosing Clothes
Start with the clothes you'll have on at the end of the workday. For a holiday party in the office, you can often keep the outfit and change a layer or an accessory. A restaurant may have its own dress rules. For an invitation that says cocktail attire, choose the evening outfit first and decide where you can change.
Check the Venue and Start Time
A 6 p.m. holiday reception could mean drinks in the office or dinner in a private room. If the invitation is vague, ask the organizer whether trousers and a blazer would fit in, then check if the venue has any rules about shoes. Lady Black Tie's guide gives examples for different dress codes.
If you cannot get an answer and the invitation just names a restaurant, look up the restaurant's dress policy. Where there is no stated dress code, dark tailored trousers, a blouse and clean loafers are an adaptable starting point for a team dinner. Bring a blazer you can take off at the table. An explicit cocktail request calls for a dressier outfit from the start.
Outfits for Three Invitations
3 p.m. in the Office
“Festive sweaters welcome” gives you permission to keep it casual. The cream knit and trousers in this photo are an example of a one-color outfit. For a warm office, wear the shirt and trousers you had planned and bring the festive piece as an option. If you'll be on your feet for most of the event, keep your regular shoes.
6:30 p.m. at a Restaurant
Dark trousers and a blazer can take you from your desk to dinner. If there is nowhere to change, put on the evening top at home and check whether you can wear the blazer over it through the workday.
THE ARTM vest and blazer are sold separately. In the seated photo, the open blazer leaves the vest's neckline visible. If you'll take the blazer off at dinner, sit down in the vest at home and see where its neckline falls on you.
Check the restaurant rules before committing to loafers. If you need different shoes at dinner, test the trouser hem with both pairs before packing.
7 p.m. at a Hotel With Cocktail Attire
A dressy midi or a tailored suit with evening shoes can work for a hotel cocktail party. If you wear jeans to work, leave time to change. Try the dress, shoes, and coat together, then take the coat off to see how much shoulder the dress leaves bare indoors. If you already own a black dress, the black dress guide pairs accessories with different necklines.
Where to Change Before a Cocktail Party
Going from a casual office to a hotel that specifies cocktail attire can mean changing the base outfit. If you can leave a dress at work, confirm where you can change and leave your daytime clothes. Put the evening shoes and undergarments with the dress so you can try the complete outfit before you leave.
When There Is Nowhere to Change
Choose a dress or tailored suit you can wear from home. Keep it understated at your desk with a removable work layer. Before counting on that plan, check that the outfit underneath meets the invitation on its own and that you have somewhere to put the jacket when you arrive.
Shoes and Bags for the Trip Between Venues
Try the evening shoes with the trousers you'll wear from work. The hem needs to clear the ground in the flats you walk in as well as the shoes you change into. In a long dress, try climbing a stair before you leave. If you need a hand to lift the hem, a shoulder bag is easier to carry than a clutch.
Pack for the Walk and the Table
A laptop that needs to come home may rule out a small bag for dinner. Bring the tote and make the outfit change with earrings or a different top. If you can leave the tote at work, pack the evening bag in it before leaving the house.
If you can check your coat at the venue, pick it for the walk there. The outerwear occasion guide covers options for different occasions.
About Firelady Fur
For a company dinner straight from work, Firelady Fur's styling approach starts with shoes you can walk in and a layer you can remove at the table. The outfit collection shows matching separates when your work wardrobe is missing that layer.
About FireladyFur · MODERN FUR · STYLE MUSES
The Same Work Outfit on Two Winter Routes
Start with dark trousers, a sleeveless evening top and a blazer. Put on the coat you wear on the way to work. If its sleeves catch the blazer, try a smoother or roomier coat before you decide the blazer can travel with you.
A Restaurant With Coat Check
Keep the walking shoes on until you arrive. Ask whether the coat check will take a tote as well as a coat. If it will, change into the dressier pair and leave the walking shoes in the bag. If it will only take coats, choose one pair that works for both the walk and the restaurant.
Style by Cher’s venue examples show how one outfit can work for a daytime event and dinner. Confirm what the restaurant will store before you plan a change of shoes.
A Dinner With Nowhere to Leave Things
For a dinner with no place to change and a laptop you have to bring, pick trousers and shoes you can wear at work and that meet the restaurant's dress code. Keep the work tote. Choose a top you would wear on its own at dinner. Before work, sit down in it with your blazer off. If the neckline opens more than you want at the table, choose another top before leaving. At the restaurant, take off the blazer and put on the earrings you packed in the tote.
Questions About Office Holiday Party Outfits
Can I wear jeans to an office holiday party?
Dark jeans can suit a clearly casual office invitation when the host and venue allow denim. A restaurant or cocktail dress code takes precedence over what you normally wear to work.
Can I keep a festive sweater on at a restaurant?
Check the venue's dress code and the invitation. A sweater can work for a casual team dinner. If the restaurant asks for a jacket or the invitation says cocktail, use the sweater for the office and change before the event.
