What to Wear to a Holiday Party
Read the invitation, then add one holiday touch.
One word on the invitation sets the outfit. For 'festive', Emily Post's answer is cocktail attire with one holiday touch.
- Treat 'festive' as cocktail attire plus a holiday touch: Emily Post lists a cocktail dress or dressy separates, in holiday colors
- Add one statement piece if you dress minimally. Debrett's 2018 office-party advice: earrings, striking shoes, or an evening clutch instead of the work bag
- Change for an office party held away from the office, and 'err on the conservative side', in Emily Post's words
- Bring a long wool coat. December nights average 1°C / 34°F in New York and −4°C / 25°F in Chicago (NOAA)
- Ask when the card is vague. Peggy Post's 2002 question to the host still works: 'What are you wearing?'
- Overly dressy or revealing clothes at a work party: Emily Post calls them 'in poor taste' at a business event
- A novelty sweater at a cocktail-coded party: keep it for the ugly-sweater invitation
- Tall, thin stilettos for the walk there: a pin heel slips on ice, and Chicago's December nights fall below freezing
Holiday invitations use the vaguest words in the dress-code vocabulary. In 2002 Peggy Post, then the Emily Post Institute's spokeswoman, told the Associated Press: '"Festive attire?" No one really knows what that means.' The Institute's attire guide has since pinned it down: festive is 'essentially cocktail party attire with a seasonal and festive holiday touch', meaning a cocktail dress, a long dressy skirt and top, dressy separates or a little black dress, in holiday colors. So start from cocktail and add one thing that says December: velvet, teal satin, a crystal earring. Then dress for the walk there: an average New York December night is 1°C / 34°F (NOAA).
One holiday touch, not a holiday costume.
Dress code
Four words cover most December invitations. Casual or ugly sweater: nice jeans and the sweater. Festive: cocktail attire with a holiday touch, per the Emily Post Institute. Semi-formal, the nearest Emily Post code to plain 'cocktail': a short cocktail dress, a little black dress or dressy separates, leaning formal if the party starts after 6 p.m. Black tie: a long evening dress or a dressy cocktail dress. For the office party, Emily Post splits it by venue: at the office after work, come in what you wore all day or dress it up a bit; elsewhere, change into dress clothes and err conservative.
Key pieces
01Black velvet blazer, satin shawl lapelVelvet gives you the holiday touch Emily Post's festive code asks for, in a shape that stays office-safe. Over the slip dress it covers the shoulders at the work party; over dark jeans it dresses up a casual one.
02Black silk slip dress, midiEmily Post lists a little black dress under both semi-formal and festive. A midi slip with the blazer on reads conservative at the office party; with the blazer off it's the cocktail dress for a friend's party the same week.
03Teal satin midi skirt, bias cutEmily Post's festive list includes a dressy skirt and top, in holiday colors. Teal satin is a blue-green that reads December under string lights without going Christmas-tree, and a bias cut moves when you do.
04Champagne sequin shell topOne sequined piece, not a sequined outfit. Under the velvet blazer at the office party only a strip of sequins shows; over the teal skirt at a friend's party it's the whole holiday touch.
05Champagne crystal drop earringsDebrett's advice in SheerLuxe's 2018 office-party guide, for anyone minimalist the rest of the year: 'a concession to Christmas might be as simple as a statement necklace or pair of earrings.' These do it alone with a black dress.
06Black patent pumpsThe same 2018 Debrett's advice calls striking shoes 'another stylish nod to party season'. Patent shines under party lights and wipes clean, which satin doesn't; the slim heel is for the party itself, so on an icy night walk there in boots and change at the door.
07Black satin frame clutchDebrett's 2018 advice is to 'swap your usual practical handbag for an eye-catching clutch or evening bag.' A frame clutch holds a phone, a card and a lipstick, and the work tote stays under your desk.
08Black long wool coatDecember averages 7°C / 44°F by day and 1°C / 34°F at night in New York, and 3°C / 37°F and −4°C / 25°F in Chicago (NOAA). A below-the-knee coat buttons over the velvet blazer and the slip dress for the walk, so nothing underneath has to be warm.
A suggested look — black velvet shawl-lapel blazer, black silk midi slip dress, champagne crystal drop earrings, black patent pumps.
What to avoid
- Overly dressy or revealing clothes at a work party: Debrett's (2024) says to save that outfit for friends
- A floor-length gown when the card says festive: festive is cocktail-level, so a gown overshoots it
- A novelty sweater at a cocktail party: keep it for the ugly-sweater invitation
- Tall, thin stilettos on December pavement: a pin heel slips on ice, and Chicago's nights average −4°C / 25°F (NOAA)
- Anything you'll adjust all night: Debrett's 2018 advice is 'professional gloss at all times'
Frequently asked questions
Cocktail attire with a holiday touch. The Emily Post Institute's attire guide calls festive 'essentially cocktail party attire with a seasonal and festive holiday touch', and lists a cocktail dress, a long dressy skirt and top, a dressy pants outfit or separates, or a little black dress, with holiday colors. For men: a seasonal sport coat or blazer, slacks, and an open-collar or dress shirt, with a festive tie if they like. In 2002 Peggy Post said nobody knew what the phrase meant; this is the Institute's answer now.
Office parties are still the norm: in Challenger, Gray & Christmas's 2024 survey of 173 HR and business leaders, 64% of companies were planning holiday celebrations. What to wear depends on where it is. The Emily Post Institute says that at the office after work you can come in what you wore all day or dress it up a bit; at a venue outside the office, change into dress clothes and 'err on the conservative side', because 'overly dressy or revealing clothing is in poor taste' at a business event. A black midi slip dress under a velvet blazer, with patent pumps and a clutch, covers both. Unsure? Emily Post says to ask the event coordinator or a colleague who has been before.
To a casual or ugly-sweater party, yes: Emily Post's casual code includes nice jeans. To a festive or cocktail party, no; the festive list is a cocktail dress, a dressy skirt and top, or dressy separates. At a casual party, make the jeans dark and clean, and put the velvet blazer and the crystal earrings on top.
Emily Post's attire guide has no separate cocktail code; its nearest is semi-formal, 'more formal than what you would wear to an office': a short afternoon or cocktail dress, a little black dress, a long dressy skirt and top, or dressy separates. It adds that if the event is later than 6 in the evening, you should err on the side of formality.
One sequined piece, yes; a sequined outfit, rarely. Emily Post's office-party rule is to err on the conservative side, so keep the sequins to one shell under a velvet blazer and the rest plain. If sequins aren't for you, Debrett's 2018 advice was a statement necklace or a pair of earrings as your one concession to Christmas.
The sweater, with plain dark jeans or trousers so it stays the point. In the UK the idea has an official date: Save the Children's Christmas Jumper Day is Thursday 10 December 2026, when the charity asks schools, workplaces and friend groups to 'put on their best (or worst) Christmas jumper' and donate. If the invitation says festive or cocktail, the novelty sweater stays home.
Swap three things: the bag, the shoes and the jewelry, the three Debrett's named in its 2018 office-party advice. A black slip dress under a blazer works at your desk; at 6 p.m. add crystal earrings, patent pumps and a frame clutch.
For festive attire, the Emily Post Institute lists a seasonal sport coat or blazer 'in color of choice', slacks, an open-collar or dress shirt, and a tie that is 'festive or with a holiday theme'. A velvet blazer counts. For black tie, a tuxedo; if the card says black tie optional, Emily Post allows a dark suit instead.
Sources
- The Emily Post Institute — Attire Guide: Dress Codes from Casual to White Tie — accessed 2026-10-26
- Emily Post — dressing for an office party — accessed 2026-10-26
- Associated Press (Samantha Critchell), in the Lawrence Journal-World — Guests encouraged to ask hosts about appropriate attire for party (8 December 2002) — accessed 2026-10-26
- SheerLuxe — Office Christmas party etiquette, with Debrett's (4 December 2018) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Debrett's — Office parties (2 December 2024) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas — 2024 holiday party survey (10 December 2024) — accessed 2026-10-26
- Save the Children UK — Christmas Jumper Day, Thursday 10 December 2026 — accessed 2026-10-26
- NOAA NCEI — U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (monthly normals by station) — accessed 2026-09-26
