Black for Christmas

I seem to have a knack for inadvertently wearing red for Christmas parties. I had planned to wear this dress yesterday, but I got sick in the morning, went in to work late, and decided it wasn't worth getting all dressed up for just a partial day. So I saved it for today instead, which happens to be the date of our department's holiday party.

The dress came in a very cheap lot of 5, so I got it for a total of a whopping 2$, which makes it hands-down the bargainest dress I own. It's a lightweight cotton and strapless besides, which technically makes it a summer dress, but then, almost all the dresses I find are summer dresses, and I can't just wear pants and sweaters all winter! At least the colors in this one are dark enough to pass it off as a winter frock, provided it's covered with the proper sweater.

The sweater is an old one I've had for years. Last year, I kind of stopped wearing it because I felt it made me look frumpy, but I kept it around because it was so sensible. With all its chunkiness, it is the perfect article to tone down an overly fancy silhouette. I ended up wearing it buttoned at the middle, which reduced the chunk factor just a bit.

And on my feet, you'll see I'm doing that thing—that thing where you let your socks peep over the top of your boots. This thing isn't my favorite trend on the books, but I decided to embrace it just this once to give my red Christmas socks a chance to shine.