4 Tips for Choosing a Day-to-Night Outfit for a Work Party

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This past week, I received my first invitation to an after work holiday party for this year! I love the holidays and all the festivities that go along with them. Since I have young kids, I also don’t get out much after work. It’s such a treat for me and I want to dress up and look good. But, I don’t have a ton of time to spare to go home and change before after work parties. The purpose of this post is to share 4 tips to help you choose a day-to-night outfit for an after work party.

Mrs. Type A’s tips for day-to-night outfits for after work parties:

1. Wear a basic dress

While I think you could wear a skirt and blouse, I think you can achieve more of a difference between your day and night look if you have a dress; unless you wear the same color shirt and skirt, you’re going to have too many colors/patterns to make distinct looks (vs a neutral you can layer over to create different looks, see below).

This dress is the staple of your day-to-night outfit, so you will want to choose wisely.  I think black (or blue) is always safe.  You will have a lot of options with which to coordinate.

Here are some examples of basic dresses for your day-to-night outfit:

(Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.)

This one may be too vivid with the neckline…depends what you wear with it.  Overall, many of these dresses have some type of flair that could be very festive and elegant for an evening party, but you may want to tone down for the office with an additional layer on top, which brings me to Tip #2…..

2. Wear a blazer to work (remove it for the party)

Wearing a blazer over the dress not only looks professional but allows you to distinguish your look from day to night. I typically suggest a basic blazer, which is fine, but something more vivid in color or pattern would also be appropriate to further distinguish between day and night.

Here are examples of blazers for your day-to-night outfit:

Then, for after work, remove the blazer and simply wear your dress above.  Alternatively, you may want to choose a festive cardigan to wear, here are some examples:

3. Wear boots in the day, switch to festive pumps for the party

Usually when I am in need of a day-to-night outfit, it’s during the holiday season when it’s fairly chilly out.  Therefore, I typically wear boots and tights. The Lafayette Demi Puno photo above nails the look!

If, by some lucky chance my need for a day-to-night outfit is not during winter, I may wear flats or, perhaps, a basic pump.

Here are some examples of boots to wear with your dress during the day:

If you’re looking for tights, you can see my thoughts in this post (as well as additional boots).

After work, I’d remove the tights and switch into a festive heel such as:

4. Swap jewelry within a set

In this post, I share advice on how to build out a jewelry collection with just a couple pieces. For transitioning for your day-to-night outfit, I’d choose 1 set of jewelry for which you have at least 2 different earring options and/or different ways to wear a necklace.  So, for example, in the daytime, I’d wear this necklace doubled up:

I’d pair it with these earrings and bracelet:

Then, when I’m transitioning to night, I’d un-double the necklace and swap the earrings for something a bit more vivid, such as:

How would I put this all together to make an awesome day-to-night outfit?!

OK, too much information?  To make things easier, here is how I would go about creating a day-to-night outfit with the items above:

This is what I would do for daytime:

Then, after work, I would swap things out for this look:

In just a few minutes, you have a whole new look!

If you’re in need of a handbag to store extra shoes and clothes in, I don’t think you’d great getting the Longchamp Le Pliage.  It’s durable and can fold away if you no longer need it!

Any other advice, Mrs. Type A?

I hope you found these tips on putting together a day-to-night outfit useful!  If you like the advice above, you may find these posts helpful:

Here are 5 posts in the same series of advice for big presentations an interviews:

• #1:  Blouses
• #2:  Pants & Skirts
• #3:  Blazers and Cardigans
• #4:  Shoes
• #5:  Handbags

Here are a few additional posts on profession attire:

• 5 Steps for Building a Working Mom Jewelry Collection
• How to pack for a business trip with just 10 pieces
• 5 Tips for Choosing Fall Business Attire for Women

As always, I’d love your feedback!  Please leave comments and suggestions below!