What To Wear: Holiday Work Party

Ah, the Office Holiday Party … given the cliché that this event has become in popular culture for being a minefield of social faux pas, it’s a wonder that companies still hold them! Of course, with the wind-down of the calendar year, and typically several days with everybody off, it’s a way to celebrate the successes of the closing year, and for management to note its appreciation of the staff’s efforts.

But, what to wear?

Well, a good place to start is figuring out what sort of a party it’s going to be … there are significant differences if you’re opening up a couple of cases of champagne in the conference room and pulling the plastic wrap off of some trays of canapes and cookies, or if you’re taking over a function room in some swank eatery. In the latter case the dress code could work its way up to formal wear, and in the former, some spin on office casual.

The dynamics of your work place will come into play as well … is your company a small team of professionals who work with each other every day all year long, or are there thousands of near-strangers who are being thrown together into a somewhat chaotic mix?

In any case, a work holiday party is still a work event, and one shouldn’t start thinking of wearing those special items in your closet that would not be proper at the office … even if the party isn’t AT the office. A skin-tight red dress might rock a night out at the clubs, but has the possibility of getting you noticed – in a bad way – by the CEO’s wife. Just as you wouldn’t indulge in those two more “bad idea” cocktails (you wouldn’t do that, would you?) that might end up leading to unfortunate conversations, you don’t want to display an unprofessionalism via your outfit in what is still a professional party.

So, the odds are that you’re going to be looking at a style level that is somewhere in between “business casual” and “formal” … but how do you work in the holiday angle? Well, if there was any time where that bright red shirt and drastically contrasting green tie could be justified being worn together, this would be it – if framed by a nice dark suit or sports jacket. It’s the accents that can bring out the holiday look, without losing the professionalism. Wearing “holiday colors” that might be a bit bright (or too shiny) the rest of the year are easy to pull off here, and adding in holiday-patterned scarfs, ties, and (within limits) jewelry – like a Christmas Tree pin or snowflake earrings.

Of course … unless your office is “that way”, it’s always a good assumption that the over-the-top holiday sweater is not a good idea, unless you’re looking forward to being mocked on Instagram well into the new year. Also, unless you work for religious fanatics who actively solicit displays of faith, it’s probably a good idea to tone down the religious symbolism. The person you’re chatting up at the punch bowl might have a “Holiday” in mind that’s not what your assuming, so even going with something as non-specific as “the reason for the season” (unless it’s featuring the astronomical concept of “axial tilt”) could be seen to be insulting or demeaning.

Anyway, keep it professional, but accessorize so that it’s festive … there’s a lot that can be done working off an “office wear” baseline (or on up to “formal” as appropriate) with color, theme, and (generic) holiday symbolism.