What to Wear to a Holiday Party: Office and Evening Dress Codes for Men

Holiday parties are hard to dress for because they mix rules. An office party is still a work event, but it happens after hours and often away from the office. A friend's festive cocktail party invites color and fun, but it is still an evening event with grown-up expectations. The answer is the same for almost all of them: dress one step smarter than your normal clothes for that setting, and let one piece carry the season. The invitation, the venue and the host tell you how far to go.

What should men wear to a holiday party?

Start with four questions: where is it, when does it start, who is hosting, and what does the invitation say? A 4 pm party in the office kitchen and an 8 pm dinner in a hotel ballroom need different clothes, even for the same company. When in doubt, a dark navy or charcoal suit with a white or light blue shirt is the safest default. It sits in the middle of the range: you can add a festive tie to dress it up, or remove the tie to dress it down.

What should you wear to an office holiday party?

An office holiday party is a work event in party clothes. Your managers, colleagues and sometimes clients are there, and people remember what you wore longer than they remember the speeches. Dress one step above your normal office clothes and never below them. If the party is at an evening venue, go a step further still. The table shows how that works in practice.

Our guides to business casual and smart casual explain those codes in detail. Whatever the level, choose clothes you can stand, eat and talk in for three hours: party rooms get warm, so a lighter shirt under a jacket is more comfortable than a heavy sweater.

Can you wear jeans to an office holiday party?

Only if your office wears jeans every day and the party is held at the office. Then wear your darkest, cleanest pair with a collared shirt, a jacket or a good knit, and leather shoes. For a party at a restaurant, bar or hotel, wear wool trousers or chinos instead; jeans look underdressed next to colleagues who made an effort.

What does festive attire mean for men?

Festive attire means cocktail attire with seasonal color and texture. You still wear a suit or a tailored jacket, and a tie by default, but the host is inviting you to have some fun with them. A velvet jacket, a burgundy or bottle green tie, a patterned pocket square or a flannel suit in a rich color all fit. It does not mean novelty clothes, light-up ties or sweaters, unless the invitation says so.

Holiday invitations rarely use the tidy names of the men's dress code ladder. This decoder translates the wording you are most likely to see.

How do you wear velvet to a holiday party?

Velvet is the classic holiday fabric because it looks rich under low light and belongs to the evening. The easiest piece is a velvet jacket in bottle green, burgundy, deep navy or black, cut like a dinner jacket or a blazer. Wear it with black or charcoal trousers, never with matching velvet trousers, and keep the rest simple: a white or pale shirt, a dark tie or a black bow tie, and black shoes. For a relaxed evening, swap the shirt and tie for a fine black or navy roll-neck.

A velvet jacket is right at festive cocktail parties, festive black tie and parties you host. At an office party it is a strong choice; it works at an evening venue when the invitation says festive, and looks out of place at a 4 pm party in the office. Velvet bow ties and velvet slippers are smaller ways to try the fabric. Our guide to dinner jacket colors explains how velvet fits into black tie.

Which colors and fabrics work for a holiday party?

Deep, saturated colors look festive without looking like a costume: burgundy, bottle green, deep navy, plum and touches of gold. Red and green together are the hardest pairing to wear well, so keep one dominant and the other small, such as a green jacket with a pocket square that has a little red in it. Black reads as smart and evening-ready, and a silver or gold tie suits New Year's Eve.

Texture does as much as color. Velvet, flannel, cashmere and fine knitwear look right in winter light and feel right in cold weather. Tartan is a classic winter pattern: a tartan tie, cummerbund or pair of trousers is a confident way to add color, worn with everything else plain. Tweed suits daytime and country parties better than evening ones.

What should you wear to a holiday party at someone's home?

A party at a friend's home usually means smart casual, even when nobody says so. A fine merino or cashmere sweater, or a roll-neck, with wool or flannel trousers and leather or suede shoes is right for most of them. Add an unstructured jacket if the hosts are formal or the party is a sit-down dinner. If you are unsure, wear a jacket: you can take it off on arrival, but you cannot conjure one if everyone else is wearing them.

What should men wear to a New Year's Eve party?

New Year's Eve parties run later and dress up more than other holiday events. A gala or hotel party often says black tie, and a dinner suit is then correct. For a cocktail-level party, a midnight blue or charcoal suit with a silver, gold or deep jewel-toned tie, or a black velvet jacket, catches the spirit. Plan for a long night: comfortable shoes, a shirt that breathes and a warm coat for the walk home.

What about ugly sweater parties?

Wear the sweater only when the invitation asks for it, and then commit. Pair it with clean dark trousers and good shoes so the sweater is the joke and the rest of you is not. At an office ugly sweater contest, choose a design that is funny without being rude; it is still a work event. At any other party, a festive sweater in a plain rich color, such as a burgundy or green cable knit, gives the seasonal feel without the novelty.

Shoes, coats and accessories for a holiday party

• Shoes: black oxfords or loafers for evening and suits; dark brown or suede shoes and chelsea boots for smart casual. Our guide to shoes with a suit covers which goes with what.
• Weather: if there is snow or salt on the streets, wear boots for the journey and change at the venue.
• Overcoat: a dark knee-length coat over a suit or dinner suit; a navy or charcoal Chesterfield is the classic choice.
• Scarf and gloves: cashmere or fine wool in gray, navy or camel.
• Pocket square: the easiest place for festive color; it should complement the tie, not match it.
• Cufflinks and watch: a holiday party is a good occasion for French cuffs and a slim dress watch.

The tailor's view: one jacket for the season

If you attend several holiday events every year, one tailored piece covers most of them. A velvet jacket cut like a dinner jacket works at festive cocktail parties, festive black tie and your own dinners, with black or charcoal trousers you already own. A dark flannel suit is the alternative for men who prefer a suit: it works at the office party with a tie and at a home party without one. Tailors are busiest in the weeks before the holidays, so order by early autumn, and allow time for fittings; our guide to how long a bespoke suit takes sets out the timeline, and our tailor rankings list the houses we rate.

The best holiday outfit is the one that looks deliberate. A dark suit with one rich tie, or a velvet jacket with everything else plain, will look right at almost every party you are invited to this season.

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