holidays at the office Archives

12/01/2015 by Kat

2017 Update: We still stand by this advice on what to wear to a holiday office party, but you may also want to check out all of our other posts on holiday business etiquette.

Here’s a fun question: what to wear to an holiday office party? We have six ideas below, all great whether it’s for your holiday company party, your SO’s office party, or some other holiday networking party. (We talked about holiday office party etiquette a few days ago!) As a general rule, pick two from the categories below and mix with regular workwear, unless you are 100% sure cocktail attire (or black tie!) is appropriate. A good clue: if the party is on a workday and all employees are invited (not just management types), take our suggestions here. As always, I suggest young businesswomen avoid showing cleavage, as well as what I’ll call “unexpected” skin (think cutout dresses, etc). Even bare arms may not be appropriate — know your office!) You should also be wary of anything requiring a special bra.

We’re shared some of our top picks for your holiday office party below. (2017 Update: Even if these exact items are sold out, they should still give you a good idea of the level of appropriateness. Don’t forget to check out all of our posts on holiday business etiquette, too!)

12/10/2008 by C

We have a feeling this post is going to be a controversial one, but: This envelope-collar belted pantsuit by Tahari Arthur S. Levine strikes us as a perfect example of what to wear to a staff holiday party. It’s festive, without being in-your-face seasonal or glitzy. It allows you to maintain a sense of authority yet still party with the secretaries and paralegals and other people you may have to supervise. If you wanted to make it more stylish, you could swap out the patent leather belt for a wide corset-style leather belt; you could also wear an over-the-top cocktail ring or add a few brooches (in an artful way) to the wide collar. On sale at Lord & Taylor for $179 (was $280). (Note also that if this is your first holiday party and you don’t entirely trust us, you could wear a black or red sequined t-shirt beneath the suit and remove the red jacket if your staff party is more festive.)