Thanks for the feedback, ladies! I ended up having a last-minute family-thing this morning, so I tossed the trousers and blouse into the car rather than the dress. I didn't want to fiddle with hose while changing in the back of my car (as I discovered the last time!).
Unfortunately, it turns out that my officemates can't tell that it's formalwear, likely because I wore pants. When I walked in, once of my officemates exclaimed, "wait, why aren't you participating in Formal Friday? It seems totally like something you'd do". Sigh.
@Isis, you're absolutely right! One of my favourite things about the Kate Middleton wardrobe dialogue is that people are don't judge her for reusing formal clothing. I guess I omitted some context: my office does Formal Fridays twice a year specifically so that our non-holiday-party formalwear can come out to play ... so I feel a bit like I'm cheating by wearing something from the holiday party.
And, you're 100% right about the Eames print; you might be even more delighted to see my
office's chairs.
@Suz, there's weird pooching at the waist; I might take it in to a tailor. I've never shown the dress on the forum; it predates YLF by a bit and has sentimental value.
@Aida, heehee, yes it's wrong! How dare you suggest soldering to a CompSci major! Cue the CS vs CE debate!