Looking for more inspiration to guide your biggest, brashest holiday party outfits? Start here, here, and here.
You could spend the duration of December worrying about holiday party gifts—y’know, what to get that colleague you barely know for your office’s annual Secret Santa exchange. At GQ, though, we prefer to spend this time of year worrying about holiday party fits—or what, exactly, we’ll be wearing to the flurry of shindigs piling up on our calendars as Q4 comes to a close. The added pressure, off course, is enough to inspire a breakdown worthy of its own Netflix mini-series. How formal are we talking? Who’s coming to the party? Will anyone notice if I wear the same pants twice?
Before you start to spiral, remember that you’re in a safe place. And also: these parties are nothing if not phenomenal reasons to get dressed the hell up. It’s time to break out that special-occasion suit, those mirror-shiny dress shoes, that extra-fancy shirt. A holiday bash is a prime opportunity for you to dress to impress, whether that means catching the eye of your office crush from across the water cooler, earning the grudging respect of your father-in-law over brunch, or blowing up your boy’s social feed with box-fresh loafers he can’t resist flicking up.
Luckily, we’ve been to our fair share of shindigs over the years, and harnessed the collective power of our soiree expertise to break it all down nice and easy for you, big fella. No matter where you’re headed (or who’s going to be there), here are 5 foolproof holiday party outfits to help you make the right impression.
1. The Dreaded Work Party
Work parties are funny. They’re meant for employees to loosen up and shake off the stress of the last four quarters, but they’re essentially adult pizza parties, self-serving corporate devices to keep the cogs lubed and the profits boosted. (John from accounting is a total rat.) Even with subsidized booze, you can only limber up so much with your boss around. But take advantage of what free libations and hors d’oeuvres there may be and try not to make a fool of yourself until your work besties coordinate a proper afters. Which, as you might expect, starts with your outfit.
Show up with a full suit and you’re a brown-noser. Show up in jeans and a hoodie and you’re gonna hear about it from HR. The move is to go into the schmedium sartorial space that is between biz-cas’ and a night out. Think a patterned sportcoat and a turtleneck sweater atop dark jeans. Or an off-kilter blazer with a plucky shirt and contrasting tie. We’d avoid sneakers here, so throw on some oxfords, loafers, or a dressier pair of boots.
2. The New Year’s Bash
Out of the multitude of December soirees and shindigs, New Year’s Eve is the one you really show out for (assuming you’re not at that age where your bedtime is in the single digits). It’s the one night that folks put on their glitziest getups, ready to party the night away with champagne, and, if you’re lucky, a midnight smooch. Think of it like a masquerade ball, but instead of wearing a mysteriously sexy mask, you’re wearing dorky 2025 glasses.
