What to Wear to an (In-person!) Office Holiday Party
‘Tis the season for holiday parties—and even better—IN-PERSON holiday parties! Thank goodness for vaccines (and masks)! If your workplace is doing an in-person holiday party this year, I put together the perfect outfit. It can easily transition from the desk to a night out (or a night inside, as it may be). I actually wore this outfit to see The Nutcracker ballet with my mom when she and my step dad were in town for Thanksgiving weekend; it’s definitely worthy of any holiday event.
Read next: My easy 3-part holiday outfit formula
What to Wear to an (In-Person!) Holiday Office Party
If your holiday office party calls for a “smart casual” outfit, I’ve got you covered! There are many holiday parties that are fancier occasions, and some are even more casual, so I’ll also mention ways to dress up and dress down this look. The most important thing with any holiday office party look is that you’ll want to feel confident and pulled together. Don’t wear anything that makes you feel uncomfortable or self-conscious. It’s easy to pull together a holiday party look with favorite items that are already in your closet!
For this look, I knew I wanted to wear pants instead of a dress or skirt, and paperbag pants are perfect for such occasions (especially if they’re black!) because they look nice but feel like pajamas. That’s truly my fashion M.O.: wear as many articles of clothing that feel like pajamas as possible (this has only gotten worse since the pandemic!).
Since I went with paperbag pants that have a wider leg silhouette, I wanted to keep the top relatively slim, so I picked out a basic cashmere sweater. This one by Naadam isn’t skin tight but it still tucked relatively nicely into the pants, and the pleating/folding from the tuck gives it a casual vibe. My suede ankle boots add more texture and color contrast. I don’t mind wearing them with black pants even though they’re brown because they’re not that close in color.
THE SECRET TO ELEVATING YOUR OUTFIT IS IN THE COAT!
The trick to immediately looking party-ready is in the coat: This wool topcoat that I’ve owned for a couple of years now instantly pulls together and elevates any outfit. (Case in point: I wore it over a sweatshirt, boyfriend jeans, and sneakers!) This coat means business. No matter what you end up deciding to wear for your holiday office party, throw on a topcoat and you’ll look like it took you hours to get ready (and no one needs to know if it only took you 5 minutes 😉). You’ll probably end up removing your coat at some point but make sure it’s on when you arrive and depart for that first (and lasting) impression (and boost of confidence)!
Throw on a pair of earrings, grab a simple clutch, and pick out a coordinating face mask and you’re ready to party! 💃🏼
If I were to dress up this outfit, I’d swap out the cashmere sweater for either a silk top in a jewel tone or even something sparkly. A bolder earring would be fun, too! To dress it down even further, I’d swap the pants for dark wash jeans, and perhaps swap the boots out, too (it would depend on the style of jean). These boots are taller and slimmer around the ankle than my other boots, so they work well under wider legs. Another option is to swap the pants for a skirt! A pleated midi would be a fun option. Wear that with opaque tights and pumps and you got yourself a party outfit!
What do you wear to in-person holiday office parties? Are you attending any fancier in-person events this holiday season?
Looking for more outfit ideas for holiday events? Check out what to wear to The Nutcracker ballet for inspo!
OUTFIT DETAILS
Banana Republic coat / old; similar by Halogen or Sam Edelman (last seen here)
Naadam sweater / exact (review here)
Madewell pants / exact from Saks or similar from Nordstrom
Aquatalia boots / old; similar (last seen here)
Kate Spade earrings / old; similar
Madewell bag / exact
Le Specs sunglasses / exact via Shopbop, Nordstrom, or Net-A-Porter
Dior Lip Glow in rosewood / exact
Night face mask / exact (on sale!)