Holiday Party Outfits

I look forward to Christmas and New Year’s parties and love to dress to the nines. For me, that usually means a long dress. For black tie events, I like to wear a gown, but I’ve been known to wear cocktail dresses to less formal affairs. Sequins, satin, velvet and embellishments add to the holiday flair.

This year I had two parties on my list, and I broke tradition: I wore pants. I wear pants a lot but I’ve always thought dresses were, well, dressier. However, I had a fantastic sequined blazer and I wanted to try it out.

For the first holiday party, I wore the blazer with a cowl necked ivory top and glazed black denim. Yup, I wore jeans to the biggest party of the year. But I paired them with Christian Louboutin booties, which take any outfit up a few notches. And when denim is black, it always looks elegant.

Jacket: Thrifted
Top: Express
Jeans: Zara
Purse: Thrifted
Bracelet: Thrifted
Shoes: Christian Louboutin via consignment

The next party was just as fun, and I was one of the MCs! I had to corral 200 of my closest colleagues and lead the events of the afternoon. I’d heard it was a tough job (“herding cats” was part of the pep talk), so I dazzled them with red satin pants and the same sequined blazer I’d worn to the gala the weekend before. I was determined to get noticed.

Jacket: Thrifted
Top: Express
Pants: Armani via Goodwill
Shoes: Manolo Blahnik via consignment
Earrings: Claire’s

It worked. I chatted up the room, kept the events going (gingerbread house building and a white elephant gift exchange were on the list), and made sure people found the main buffet, vegan table, and chocolate fountain.

Dressing the part helped get me into the role and made people pay attention to what I had to say. Carrying a mic around and talking to a crowd that big isn’t part of my usual day!

I loved these pants when I found them at Goodwill and knew I’d find a good use for them. The only problem was, with heels, they were a bit short. I like to break fashion rules, but unless they’re gauchos, wide pants need to be long–at least in my book.

The solution: Hubby let out the hem for me so the pants could skim the ground as they were intended. Yes, the creases still visible (and I need to finish the edge), but no one noticed. What’s worse than a frayed edge? Highwaters. Definite faux-pas!

Have you been to any holiday parties lately? Got plans for New Year’s? If so, let me know what you like wearing to festivities.

This post is part of the Ethical Fashion Bloggers holiday party challenge, Visible Monday, and Thrifter’s Anonymous–a three-fer!