What I Wore: Company Holiday Party

So after the flurry of cocktail-dress discussions, I’ve gotten a couple emails asking to see pictures of MY little black dress. Which has not been outside of the back of my closet since January 2006. That was the last time Jason’s company threw a big employee holiday party.
This year, however, Jason started a new job. Last Monday. And first thing Monday morning, he was presented with an invite to the company party. So Monday night, I pulled my dress out of plastic and tried it on.
Party Rule #1: Always, always, always try that dress on one last time.
Yeah. Turns out I’ve lost a liiiiiiitle bit of weight since I bought this dress (which was only about three months after Noah was born). And while usually unexpected weight loss is awesome — like pulling on your winter coat for the first time and finding $20 in the pocket — this was not super awesome. That unexpected $20 in the pocket was going to be EXPENSIVE.
There wasn’t enough time to get the dress altered, so it was off to the store. I ended up getting a black empire-waist strapless dress by BCBG Max Azria.

Party Rule #2: When shopping for a dress, always bring heels or go somewhere that will supply a pair in the dressing room.
Since the dress was a splurge, I hightailed it over to Filene’s Basement for shoes. And lo, the perfect pair of sparkly Calvin Kleins were on the clearance rack. One pair left, my size, 40% off $79. THAT is how you buy freaking shoes, people.

I borrowed a necklace from my mother-in-law and carried a black Coach evening bag I’ve had for ages (and one of the best bag investments I’ve ever made).

And since I’m a firm believer that getting ready for the party is quite often just as fun as the party itself, I treated myself to a mani/pedi AND a real, honest-to-God updo at the salon.

Party Rule #3: Always get your nails done in a color you have at home in case of last-time chips or smudges. (I ruined my pedicure getting out of the car, because I rule.)
I carried a winter white pashmina just in case 1) the room was freezing, or 2) I ended up being ridiculously overdressed.
Party Rule #4: It is always always always better to be overdressed than underdressed. Be the most fabulous girl in the room instead of the girl who didn’t get the dress code memo.
Turns out, the room was a sauna and I was most definitely NOT overdressed. There were some very underdressed guests and someone in a floor-length gown and one pregnant woman wearing an absolutely fabulous maternity dress that she got at Target (I asked, because I must have it) and a lot of girls stressing over collapsing French twists and frizzed-out curls, which made me extremely grateful for the Not Moving At All Updo of Steel that Phillip gave me.
(Although the next morning, not so much, when I realized that the company-discounted hotel room we’d gotten for the evening only offered a cheap drugstore-type shampoo and NO CONDITIONER. I think I left half of my hair in the tub.)
The food was yummy, the bar was open, I won some hands at Texas Hold’em and this really adorable old man asked me to dance and Jason didn’t stop looking at me all night and paying me compliments. Verdict: worth the hangover!
So now that the holiday party season is pretty much over, tell me. What did YOU wear?