Holiday Double Feature - Office Party

I hope you're enjoying the holiday collaboration with Irene of Petite Plus, Meow!  Yesterday, we kicked off our series featuring the classic red and green. 

Today, we're talking what to wear to a holiday office party!

Dress:  LOFT Petites (Available here)

Blazer:  Altuzarra for Target (Gift)

Office holiday parties allow you to have some fun with fashion AND to spice things up from your typical 9 to 5 look, but I have two rules regarding office party style that I think are best to be followed.

If the party is before 5 pm, add a little sparkle and pretty holiday colors, but stick with more classic work styles and fabrics (let your office dress code dictate your choices).

Whether your office party is at the end of a work day or an evening function, stick with conservative shapes and cuts.  You're still representing yourself as an employee no matter the time or place of the party.  Because of that, err on the side of caution in showing too much skin.

Shoes:  Simply Vera for Vera Wang

Clutch:  Target

My office holiday party is during the day (look coming soon), but I had fun here styling an office party look for evening.

This forest green leopard print dress has such a pretty sheen, and I love how the satin lapels of this tuxedo blazer dress the look up all the more.

Necklace (worn as a bracelet):  Torrid

The leopard print isn't classically Christmas, of course, but it adds more of a personal touch.  I love leopard print, and this one is done subtly well. 

This dress is recent purchase from Ann Taylor LOFT, and while it's a petite, it was still a little long.  Since taking the pictures with HollieWould PIX, I've taken the dress to the tailor to be shortened, as shown in the other photos.

The tuxedo blazer is from this past fall's Altuzarra for Target line.  It has a satin python brocade peplum that adds a little more subtle animal print.  

While I stuck with an evening office party look, Irene styled looks for both a daytime and evening office party.

Irene of Petite Plus, Meow!

The pencil skirt is a classic choice for the office, but the brocade floral gives it a dressier feel.  Paired with a cotton blouse and beige heels, Irene looks ready for the office, but with a little added oomph.  Her evening look ups the ante a bit more with a peplum mockneck top, dressier heels, and gold touches.

See more of Irene's look at Petite Plus, Meow! or find her on Facebook!

Ring:  The Limited

Do you have a work holiday party to attend?  What do you plan to wear?

12 Days of Holiday: Gilded Brocade

Hope you all have been having a fabulous weekend!

Today's look is what I wore to my office holiday party this past Friday.

Pants:  LOFT Petites (Available here)

I love these brocade pants.  They have a subtle shine without being too ostentatious, and I'm having fun imagining ways to dress them down for everyday work wear.

For the party, I decided to dress these fancy pants up with a velvet blazer, heels, and a scarf tied into a big floppy bow tie.

Blazer:  New York & Company (Available here)

Blouse:  Old Navy (old)
Scarf:  LOFT (Available here)

I had an image in my head of this outfit, and this is an instance where I used tailoring to get a look that was close to my vision.

When I first tried these straight leg pants, I looked like all thigh.  They were very unflattering, and I was sure that I was going to have to keep searching to get the look I wanted.  

Heels:  Target (Available here)
Clutch:  Jason Wu for Target (Available on ebay here)

Bracelets, right hand:  Torrid and The Limited (Available here and here)

After having the pants pinned to a slimmer fit, I realized that they would work.  Tapering pants legs is a relatively simple and inexpensive alteration, and since these are special pants not easily found everywhere, I found tailoring to be worth the cost.  The legs were tapered to create more of a skinny fit, and I got the look for which I was hoping after all!

Bracelet, left hand:  Vintage (Similar here)
Earrings:  Torrid (Similar here)

What would you wear to an office holiday party?