Holiday Outfit Ideas: 3 Ways to Wear One Fabulous Party Dress
In late November, the season of dinner parties for various holidays begins, lasting from Thanksgiving to New Years.
Every year, we look at our closets and say, “oh no, I have nothing to wear to this party!” But what if you had one dress you could wear, styled differently to at least three parties? To me, there is no fashion faux pas in wearing a dress more than once, so long as you style it differently and the parties are spaced out. After all, who can afford to buy a different dress for every event during the winter season?
It’s all about styling. Below, I’ll show you three ways to wear a single holiday party dress – no one will ever know you’re repeating the same dress!
Product Information: Pleated Bow Tie Dress, Charlotte Russe.
I picked this dress for two reasons: first, I love the brown-burgundy color, because it’s more than just the typical LBD; and second, I love the details – the bow is adorable and the ruched neckline draws attention to your face. This dress is perfect for parties, but could also be dressed down if need be!
And now, how to wear it!
Outfit 1: Edgy Holiday Party Look
Product Information: Snap Collar Leatherette Jacket, Forever 21. Wild Diva Jelena Gladiator Booties, Fly Jane. Torque Chains, Forever 21. Sequin wallet, Charlotte Russe.
For a holiday party with your friends, this would be a great edgy outfit.
I love the brown leather jacket paired with the brown dress: it creates a contrast and interest without being obvious or overly matchy-matchy. The purple clutch provides a pop of color and a little bit of sparkle.
I really love putting together multiple tones of a neutral into one look: the burgundy brown of the dress, the cocoa brown of the jacket, and the tan of the gladiator booties are all plays on the same tone. This is a formula that works for all outfits: when in doubt, shades of the same neutral will always look interesting and chic!
Outfit 2: Dinner with Family
Product Information: Mustard V-Neck cardigan, Peacocks. Macey River Pump, Topshop. Empress Hinged bangle, Forever 21. Dove Stud earrings, Juicy Couture.
Dressing up for a family holiday dinner can sometimes be difficult!
For this outfit, I decided to pair a mustard cardigan with this party dress, to dress it down a little bit. However, you could always choose another color based on what works with your skin tone: pink, red, bright blue, and green could work with this dress as well! Paired with neutral but interesting flats and a super cute bangle, this outfit will have you looking pretty yet relaxed at your family’s holiday get-together!
Outfit 3: Meeting the Parents
Product Information: Black cut out ankle boots, Debenhams. Houndstooth DB Jacket, Forever 21. Cabbage Corsage Clutch, Monsoon. Bella Rouge earrings, 1928.
The holiday season also means the possibility of being invited to a holiday party with your significant other’s parents – yikes!
I put this outfit together with that in mind. I love red with this dress and surprisingly, I think black accents look great against it as well. Some might say that wearing black and brown together is a “don’t”, but those fashion rules are outdated. These days, you can feel free to mix colors as you please. The red accents on the accessories I chose pop against the burgundy-brown of the dress, while the black helps you look put-together, which will impress those parents!
What do you think?
What is your favorite dress to wear to holiday parties and how do you transition it? What do you think about styling one dress in different ways throughout the holiday season? I love to hear from you guys, so let me know in the comments!!
Posted on on November 5, 2009 / Filed Under: Fashion Tips / Tags: Christmas, Dating, Dresses, Holidays, How To, Outfits, Party
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Kristina - University of Arizona
I love this! I often find myself wearing the same dress the same way each time I wear it and what a waste! My favorite is the “meet the parents” look. I would wear it to any holiday party! I guess that’s because my look is a bit more on the conservative side. I like the shoes in the first outfit, too!
Suzi
I find party dresses like this one challenging to create different looks with just because it seems like such a stand-alone item. I love the outfits you created and I really like the palette of the last outfit. Unexpected, but it works!
Fen
I’m not entirely convinced about the third outfit. If I were to meet my boyfriend’s parents for the first time I would not want to be wearing a jacket. Also, I don’t feel like they would be particularly impressed if I took it off to reveal a strapless dress with hooker heels. Perhaps a shall to cover up the bare shoulders would be a bit more appropriate?
Milana
I like really the dress you picked – it’s really suitable for the holidays, however I agree with Suzi on the fact the the dress is a stand-alone item and you can’t really achieve what you wrote, namely “no one will ever know you’re repeating the same dress!” The dress is the same – the only thing that changes is the outerwear.
Maybe taking the bow of (if possible) and putting on a wide belt instead could do the trick?
Interesting post!
/Milana from FashionStyleAdvice
Michelle - College of Idaho
I’m sorry you guys don’t love the looks – obviously, they are the ways I would wear the dress and I definitely don’t expect everyone to think similarly! I would love to hear how you guys would wear this dress, or any party dress, for more than one event.
Sam
I’m not sure the outfits really work together. The dress is pretty but the bow is very problematic. I think it would look weird under that cardigan on #2. The dress just is not versatile enough to be worn out so many different ways. But like I said, if the dress didn’t have the bow, I think the outfits would look much, much nicer.
hannah
maybe it’s just cuz i hate the dress to begin with but i dont think any of the accessories or colors go well together at all.
Isabelle
Very smart and put together post!
Michelle
Not a fan of this dress. The three outfits don’t look that different to begin with. Everyone will notice your effort on the same dress. Honestly I don’t think any of the three outfits are flattering. As Sam mentioned, the chunky bow will look really weird under the soft cardigan. I will never wear this type of dress under a plaid, double-breasted jacket…
Laura
I really like the second outfit! I love the colour of the cardigan, the flats and the earrings. It has a Lauren Conrad vibe to it. I don’t know how I feel about the bow on the dress if the cardigan was worn with it, it just depends on where it would hang on your body, the bow might be too much where the cardigan does have a tie with it, but then again the tie can be taken off. I always feel like I have to buy a new dress to wear to a party because it feels like people have seen it before, but this has shown me a little how to change the look of the dress!
Suzi
I think the second outfit would be AMAZING if the cream coloured parts of the dress were black. Gold, brown/burgundy and black is an amazing colour combo but not one I *ever* see people wear.
Sarah
Rad post. Love all the outfits…the clutch in the third one is blow-my-mind cute!
Amy
Not too fond of any of these looks. Perhaps a cropped cardigan or shrug might accentuate the bow better than try to cover it up and look like a tumor.
Jennifer
I really like the dress by itself, but I’m not sure of the outfit options. To me the only one that would look right would be outfit 1, the other colors do not seem to work.
Little Miss Impatient
not really feeling the dress too much. i feel like the things posted with it, are too different from each other. but other than that, great idea.
Julie
i think the problem is the dress, otherwise i feel like the outfits would be very cute. and i agree with Fen about the meet the parents outfit. I would definitely try not to show too much cleavage or shoulder/back when meeting them for the first time
Maya
I absolutely love the first outfit, though the clutch not so much. Without it it’s perfect- love the gladiator heels in that color, matching the dress and that necklase just fits perfectly!
Tamsin
Too many people don’t use their imagination when it comes to dressing dresses! Although I love this idea of alternating accessories around one dress I feel that these outfits really don’t realistically go together. Personally I never wear brown, I think it clashes too often.
Angie Marie
While I adored this article and liked all of the individual pieces (the dress itself is stunning!) I agree with everyone who said that few of the “bits and pieces” shown flow together (cardigan over a silk bow?). They are also inappropriate for the occasions mentioned. I am a slim girl with a fairly large bust, and I know that my dad would yell at me to change if I wore this to a family holiday gathering. And, though I’m single, I’m sure that very few potential boyfriends’ parents would want me at their house in such a low neckline!
Sarah
Wow I don’t get all the hate… I think these outfits are fantastic! Maybe part of the problem is the dress’s neckline – on my computer the white at the bust blends in with the background so I thought it was a lot lower than what it really was! The third outfit was definitely my favorite. I would have never put it together like that, but wow it really works. The cutout boots are adorable!
viviana
Questi vestiti sn mlt classici e spettacolari e allo stexo tempo sn eleganti!!!!!!!Besos!!!!!
Lady in Evening Dress
Wow !! I always love the Short Dresses. This short dress is also beautiful. Again thanks for posting !!
Madeleine Fahlbusch
My favorite dress to wear to holiday parties is my short, tweed, houndstooth dress. I help it transition but pairing it with different shoes, I layer it over different shirts, I accessorize it differently, and I experiment with different tights. I think that it’s okay to wear the same dress for more than one event during the holiday season as long as you don’t wear it for all of them or back-to-back or you’ll look like a one trick pony.
dimi
no offense but i dont like ANY of these looks..the other pieces arent what i would wear wit hthat kind of dress.
Lynn
I agree with a lot of the color choices you made, the only thing I’m not feeling with the dress is the bow on the side. Since all 3 looks have a cardigan/jacket over it, I think the bow would be a bit awkward underneath.
I think maybe a dress like this, where the focus is the gorgeous neckline but it leaves the rest of the dress very simple where your accessories would work well.
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?subCategoryId=CLOTHES-DRESSES-PARTY&id=930110&catId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&pushId=CLOTHES-DRESSES&popId=CLOTHES&sortProperties=&navCount=140&navAction=top&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=001&colorName=BLACK&isSubcategory=true&isProduct=true&isBigImage=&templateType=
viviana
Io stasera devo uscire e vorrei mettermi un paio di pantaloni gli stivali!!! voi ke dite??