Day 13 - What to wear to a house party!?

Do you ever get an invitation to an event and know what you are going to wear to it right away?  Absolutely not.  If you are like me, it will take you from the moment you get that invite, to 3 minutes before the event starts to figure out what the heck you are going to wear.  It is definitely more challenging for a woman I think than it is for a man.

Men have three options - casual, business casual, formal.  Men can take one pair of jeans and dress them up or down with a simple shirt change.  They can take one shirt and dress that shirt up or down based on the pants - jeans vs. khakis or a tie vs. no tie.  I feel like I would be an incredibly well-dressed man.  They can change outfits up by adding layers, like a sweater, or a long-sleeved button down.  They can wear one outfit to the mall with a pair of gym shoes, throw on a pair of dress shoes and head out to dinner.  Men really do have it easy.

Now for women, it is a little more difficult.  There are so many things that must be taken into consideration - things men probably never even knew existed.  For instance, the invitation you received is for a party at some one's home.  My wheels immediately begin spinning.  The very first question that enters my mind is "will we be able to wear shoes in the house?"  This is one of the most important questions of them all.  If the answer is yes, you are allowed to wear shoes in the house, then picking out an outfit is slightly easier.  If the answer is no, then the decision-making skills must go into hyper-mode.  If you can't wear shoes in the house, then you know you can't wear a skirt with tights.  Walking around in tights can be lethal.  You can slip and fall on your hiney in an instant.  You can't wear your favorite jeans that look awesome with a pair of platforms because when you take those heels off, your pants drag 6 inches past your feet.  You can't wear dress pants with heels because those dress pants will drag like the jeans.  Knowing whether or not shoes are allowed in the house is huge when it comes to picking out an outfit.  That is dilemma number one.

Number two has to do with "what is everyone else going to be wearing?"  I find myself calling my sisters or my mother-in-law to figure out what they are going to be wearing to a specific event.  I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb because I was completley overdressed, or I stick out for the opposite reason - because I was grossly underdressed.  I feel more comfortable dressing similarly to my peers. 

However, you can't always ask people what they are going to wear!  There are always going to be times when you just have to wing it.  In those situations, no matter what the event, the one rule of thumb I always live by is "it is much better to be overdressed than under dressed."  You run more of a risk of people making comments if you show up to an event in a pair of denim and everyone else is in their Sunday Best, then if you were to show up in a cute skirt and heels, and they were all in jeans.  Always err on the side of caution and overdress yourself.  Plus who doesn't like dressing up a little bit and flaunting it??  Have fun!