The Christmas party outfit: how to dress for the office party and the private one
A guide to what men wear to a Christmas party: suit or blazer, what suits the office party and the one with friends, and the details that hold up all evening - with pieces from our own collection.
House of Vinterberg · · 4 min read
The Christmas party is the year's most misunderstood dress code. It is too smart for everyday clothes and too long for the stiff ones - the same outfit has to eat, toast and dance from four in the afternoon until late at night. This is our guide to the Christmas party outfit for men: what suits the office party, what suits the one with friends, and the choices that keep the clothes sitting right when the coffee arrives.
First: which Christmas party
The office Christmas party is a working day with a festive dinner. Here the suit is the right answer, and it may well be the one you would wear to an important meeting - just with a warmer colour in the tie. The party with friends is freer: blazer, knitwear and tailored trousers carry the evening without looking like you came from the office. And if the invitation says 'festive', that means a suit in a colour you do not wear every day, not a dinner suit - the dinner suit belongs to black tie, and a Christmas party is never that.
The suit for the office party
The navy suit is the safe base: it can carry a red or burgundy tie without turning into a Christmas costume, and it looks as right at eleven at night as at four in the afternoon. The light grey suit is the festive alternative if the company is less formal, and the dark brown herringbone is the one that stands out without shouting - brown is winter's colour, and it suits most men better than they think.
See the products: Navy suit, Light grey suit, Dark brown herringbone.
With the suit goes a white or light blue shirt and one tie that can last the evening. Burgundy and deep red are Christmas colours without being Santa's, and they look better in a matte woven silk than a shiny one. Read the tie colour guide if the suit is grey or brown. The pocket square white or in the same family as the tie, never identical.
Blazer and knitwear for the party with friends
When the party is private, the suit swaps places with the blazer. A charcoal or navy checked blazer over a black Merino Wool roll neck is the outfit that looks most effortless and needs the least maintenance through the evening: no tie to straighten, no collar to fold. Under the blazer the roll neck can also be swapped for a crew neck in navy or off-white, and the trousers are charcoal tailored trousers or dark jeans, never distressed ones. Our blazer guide covers cuts and colours.
See the products: Charcoal Prince of Wales blazer, Navy windowpane blazer, Black Merino Wool roll neck, Charcoal trousers.
The details that hold up all evening
A Christmas party is long, and the clothes have to last it. The tie clip is not decoration here but function: it keeps the tie out of the plate and in place when the jacket comes off. The belt matches the shoes - black with black, brown with brown. And the shirt should be cut so it stays in the trousers when there is dancing; a made-to-measure shirt has the right length in the back, which is the real difference between a shirt that sits right at eleven and one that does not.
What not to do
No novelty hats, no Christmas ties with motifs and no sequins - the party is a celebration, not a theme. No black suit with a black shirt: that is the nightclub's uniform, not Christmas's. And do not wear the dinner suit unless the invitation asks for it; a dinner suit at a Christmas party makes everyone else feel underdressed and you feel wrongly dressed. The tuxedo guide explains where it belongs.
The clothes after the party
The suit should hang on a wide hanger and air overnight before it goes back in the wardrobe - the smell of food and smoke disappears on its own if the material is given the chance. A stain on the lapel is treated with cold water and a cloth, never rubbed, and the suit does not need dry cleaning after one evening. Our garment care guide covers the rest.
Frequently asked questions
- What should a man wear to a Christmas party?
- To the office party a suit in navy, grey or brown with a white or light blue shirt and a tie in burgundy or deep red. To the party with friends a blazer over Merino Wool knitwear with tailored trousers or dark jeans.
- Do you have to wear a suit to the office Christmas party?
- As a rule, yes. The office party is a working day with a festive dinner, and the suit is what looks right both at the table and late in the evening. If the workplace is informal, a blazer over knitwear carries the evening just as well.
- Should you wear a dinner suit to a Christmas party?
- No. The dinner suit belongs to black tie, and a Christmas party never is, unless the invitation explicitly says so. A suit in a colour you do not wear every day is the festive answer.
- Which tie colour suits a Christmas party?
- Burgundy or deep red in matte woven silk - Christmas colours without Santa's. With a grey suit also navy, with a brown suit rust. Avoid ties with motifs.
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