Hi all,

So my husband's office holiday party is this Thursday evening. It's usually a little later in the month, so I hadn't started thinking at all about what to wear until, oh, this morning or so.

The party is at a restaurant/club downtown and is a cocktails-and-appetizers kind of thing. People usually dress nicely, but not black tie or anything, especially since it's right after work on a weeknight.

I was thinking of wearing this black dress I got on sale at Ann Taylor a few months ago, which has been sitting in my closet waiting for an excuse. I've tried accessorizing it here with a sparkly necklace in warm reds and oranges, which is probably the most holiday-ish piece of jewelry I have. I've also added some gold bracelets, black patent pumps, and this (coral? mango? I'm bad at describing orange shades) bag. I have two pairs of earrings as options, which you can see in the accessories picture. One pair are small gold hoops with tiny clear crystals and the other are semi-oversized studs made up of tiny gold crystals. Both are attempts to add a little more sparkle without competing with the necklace.

I was also wondering about switching out the black tights for sheer black hose, either plain or with little dots, which might lighten it up a little bit. And I'm thinking this may be one of those dresses you need to wear a slip with.

I'd wear my hair down and curly like this, but probably with a little more pulled off my face. I also don't have makeup on here, but would obviously do that for the party. Maybe involving some red lipstick.

What do you think? Does this outfit work at least as a starting point? Thanks for looking and for any feedback!