Career Style: A Faux Wrap Dress for Day-to-Night

A faux wrap dress is a great option for working women who need versatile pieces.  Here’s how to style your dress for the office and for the office holiday party.  It’s the perfect day-to-night dress.

For the Office Shard Stud Earrings ($89) // Spanx Tights ($38) // Marc Fisher Ltd. Mayae Boots ($179) // Cushnie et Ochs Peplum Blazer ($524) // Vince Camuto Ensie Satchel ($238)

There are a lot of Cyber Monday deals at work today.  So if you’re interested in any of these items, I would check to see if they are on sale.  Because no one wants to miss out on a bargain.

To style the Casey Dress from MM LaFleur (also in plus-sizes) for the office, I decided to pair the navy dress with black separates.  Some women are afraid of black and navy as a combination, but it’s an elegant and modern look.  The only trick is you have to make it look intentional, not like the only clean blazer was the black one.

Here, I chose this flipping gorgeous Cushnie et Ochs blazer because I love a peplum jacket.  If you need a less expensive one, this DKNY blazer comes in at a cool $103.  If you’re still scared to pair black and navy, you can use this navy Mango peplum jacket to create a pseudo-suit for $69.

For the accessories, I chose opaque tights and a Marc Fisher velvet bootie.  It’s fun to take calculated risks with fashion, and a velvet bootie is certainly that.  If you want something less risky, these Stuart Weitzman sock booties (pricey but versatile) and these Halogen Anita booties (affordable perfection) are both good choices.

The bag is a fun, textured black satchel.  I like the added zip the snake texture adds.  If you want something more affordable, this simple Urban Expressions satchel is a great buy at $39.

As for makeup and hair, if you’re doing a day-to-night look with an updo, wear the updo to work.  Or curl it in the morning and fashion it into a half up half down later.  Similarly, the makeup should lay down the base for the night style.  So keep it basic, and wear minimal eye shadow, since we’re doing a smokey eye later.

For the Party Baublebar Noel Drop Earring ($39) // Eloquiii Velvet Clutch ($49) // Erica Lurex Pumps ($139) (also in narrow and wide)

To jazz up a daytime look for work, you need to bring in a little drama.  A festive drop earring like these Noel earrings from Baublebar is a good choice.  You could also go with these large geometric drops or an on-trend tassel earring.  If you don’t like drop earrings, try an ear crawler instead.

I chose this lovely velvet bag because it felt very holiday in the deep wine color.  If you want something with a bit more glitz, I like this $29 Lulu Townsend box clutch.

For the shoes, I chose a kitten heel lurex pump from Talbot’s.  I chose these because I don’t have a lot of room in my budget for “evening shoes” this year.  However, these have a mild amount of sparkle so you could also wear them with grey trousers or jeans.  If you want something with a lot more pop, these silver Hazel pumps from Sam Edelman should be right up your alley.

For the eye makeup, I would do a charcoal smokey eye.  If this is your office party, you want it to be on the subtler side.  This tutorial plus this grey/brown palette should help you pull that off.  And if you’re doing a smokey eye, keep the lip understated with a bare-plus-pink lip pencil like this one.  Also, if you like to paint your nails, a wine hue would pair well with the clutch.

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