Ladies - Fashion Advise Please

I have my work holiday party on Thursday and the invitation said business casual. No big deal, that is essentially what I wear to work every day, right? Well, after talking to the office manager she has informed me that it is not, in fact, business casual after all. She sent out an email advising that the dress code is “festive/cocktail” and that for women this generally means cocktail dresses and men should wear suits.

Crap. I have never owned or worn a cocktail dress in my life. I am generally anti-dress as they aren’t as comfortable as pants IMO, but most of the other women are wearing dresses apparently so I should probably do the same.

As I did not manage to find a date before the RSVP’s were due I am going by myself which is fine, but I don’t want to be there alone AND be dressed like a social reject. So ladies (and any men who have an opinion one way or the other) help me figure out what I should be looking for on my shopping trip tonight and tomorrow. Should I be wearing a “little black dress” like this, something with some color and style to it like this or this (similar dress but different color/neckline) or should I keep it simple like this or this?

I like both of the final two choices, and think you’d probably feel less self-conscious in them, if you’re not a regular dress-wearer. Add some dressy shoes and you’re good to go.

I like the first and the last choices, and I think you’ll be able to get more use out of them in the future.

I also vote for the final two choices. Overall, better dresses. More flattering cuts.
A nice set of dangly earrings or a bold necklace, especially with the last black dress, and you’ll be smoken’

Ditto. I really like the first, but how flattering a dress looks on you really depends on your body type, I think. A pretty dress can look weird once worn, but also vice versa. (My roomie recently bought a dress that looked bizzare on the rack but amazing once she put it on.)

The final dress looks like the best option to me. I bet you dollars to donuts that many (maybe most) people will come in regular work clothes despite the new dressiness designation. What the actual invitation says is what most pay attention to. All of which is to say, err on the side of caution.

I like the first and last ones, and agree that they will be best for future needs as well. They look really easy to accessorize.

Now the big question–what about shoes? :smiley:

Og, I forgot about shoes. :eek:

Everything I do is pretty casual, even the things one wouldn’t expect to be casual, so I have no clue what someone would wear to a dressy occasion. Heck, I went to the opera a couple of weeks ago in slacks and a dress top and was one of the few people there not in jeans! I really wish I could just wear my Betty Boop or Sponge Bob jammies everywhere I go but I don’t want to be mistaken for being homeless or something.

I just don’t want to show up there in a simple black dress and have everyone else be wearing something that accessorizes well with a tiara, but I don’t want to show up looking like I thought I was going to the prom either.

There are cocktail looks with pants. Plain black trousers, with a gold sweater or satin blouse, dangly earrings, and nice shoes, for example.

If you don’t normally wear dresses, you don’t have to wear one. Get a nice holiday top (in a metallic maybe) and wear it with some nice black slacks and dressy heels and you’re prefectly acceptable. An office party doesn’t rate anything overly glamorous.

ack! I think it’s safest, in this instance, to wear something a step dressier than you would wear to the office. perhaps a short, velvety dress isn’t “you”, but a slightly more casual, wrap dress is. you can also get a cute dress and put a sweater over it- if you need to be a little more dressy, take off the sweater. Or carry a string of pearls in your bag and, if you think you’re not dressy enough, put them on. don’t go out of your style completely or people will be commenting on it all evening- especially at work cocktail functions, where conversation can linger on what people are wearing simply b/c the amount of topics one can chit-chat about with coworkers is limited.

That being said, I’d wear nice earrings and jewelry as well, and a pretty pair of shoes or high boots. do your hair nicely, or do your nails. Be a dressy version of yourself and you’ll be fine.

My normal look for Brainiac4’s party - Minnesota in Winter is not a good time for skirts.

Personally, I like the black slacks, blouse (or mock t) (or, if weather permits, a skirt or dress) and dressy jacket from Coldwater Creek (Chicos or Christopher and Banks) sort of look for these things.

Brainiac4’s party is always a hoot. I’d HIGHLY recommend (watching for years - at least their corporate culture) avoiding plunging necklines, anything with a skirt that can be described as “flirty” and anything tight. You are FAR better off in a business setting to dress in business casual (and dress it up with jewelry or something) than to show up in something that becomes the talk of the office because it is so unlike you (or so not professional). The office party is not the time for people to discover you own cleavage if you haven’t shown it off at work before.

Don’t overlook a place like Target for your cocktail attire. You can find some really cute dresses for not a lot of money, which should also help ease the bite to your budget. The Isaac Mizrahi dresses are really cute, IMO, and most are $50 or less. Here’s just one example.

I wouldn’t go with the first dress. It’s too revealing for an office function without a shawl or jacket. With a shawl, you could get fidgety, and the dress looks like it would be hard to find the right jacket. I like the last dress. The Target one looked pretty good, too. The one with the purple stripe is not what you’re looking for, IMHO.

That said, you might do well to go the pants route. Black flowing pants in satin, velvet or crepe. This season there are lots of metallics around and this would be a good opportunity to wear something like that for a top or jacket. This look can also be done with dressy flats for shoes, so you will be comfortable.

Guy here- I’d go with the last linked option, black dress with sleeves and high black boots. It’s unlikely that anyone will be dressed considerably more formally than that for an office holiday party, and if everyone is dressed more casually, the only thing they’ll all remember is “wow- look at pbbth- she looks great!”

The last dress, the black one, would not be out of place anywhere. You would be safe in almost every social setting that does not involve chewing tobacco. I highly urge getting a dress like that just so you’ll have it in your closet as a go-to all-purpose black dress, myself.

The last dress, or else a pants outfit. Definitely.

The last three office parties I went to that were supposed to be cocktail attire, a few women went in nice cocktail dresses, a few dressed to the nines, and most wore black pants, heels, a nice shiny/glittery top and gold jewelry. Everyone wore more makeup than normal at work. I’ll join the chorus of don’t wear a dress if you don’t want to , but do look dressy. As long as you have glittery stuff on, that seems to satisfy the dress code.

I will pass by the Lane Bryant on my way home today and if their website is any indication (and I am aware it may not be) they should have the following 3 options for me to try on and possibly purchase that seem to fall in line with the last dress pictured above.

Option 1

Option 2

Option 3

Of the three, option 2 is my favorite and it does come in black. this seems pretty similar to the last dress shown above, but if none of them look right when I try them on they are having a sale on dressy tops and pants as well.

The cut of the last two dresses is both flattering and work-appropriate. Personally, I don’t do black dresses, so I like the patterned one a bit better, but either would be lovely and re-wearable. Even if you’re not usually a dress-wearer, it doesn’t hurt to have one in your closet for special occasions.