Opinion
Fashion Jam: Turning heads at the office Christmas party
Jenny Egsten-Ericson
This article is more than 9 years old.
You have probably already had your first Julefrokost (Christmas lunch) invitation in your inbox. If you haven’t been to one before, you might want to prepare yourself and read up on the event.
It’s a one-of-a-kind mixture of festive cheer and excessive drinking that often results in the release of a year’s worth of pent-up feelings (it’s apparently the most popular event of the year to commit adultery).
Emotions run high, the drinks flow and inhibitions are cast aside – and all this can only make for a highly amusing combination.
How much of a Dane?
I can’t really prepare you for what might happen, but at least I can help you by being properly dressed for the occasion.
Now this also depends a little on how much of a Dane you are planning to be? Are you just going to go for it and not really care that you have to see these people on Monday morning (what happens at Julefrokost stays at Julefrokost), or are you planning to stay in control and observe?
Think Studio 54, 1979
If you fall into the first category, I would recommend you don’t wear a short dress or anything from which body parts might slip out and be immortalised on Facebook or Instagram (which is very hard to ignore and explain afterwards).
Instead embrace the big trend of the ‘70s and go for a floor-length, glittery or metallic dress that screams Studio 54, 1979.
If that’s still a bit unsafe, try a jumpsuit but don’t choose a black one – at least go with some glamour and sparkle, or a colour and a pattern. If you don’t feel like you have the body for a jumpsuit, then go for a suit with a well-defined waist and preferably one in dark green velvet. Nothing says glamour like sparkle and velvet. Remember, this is the time of year to dress up and go from minimalist to maximalist.
She who dares …
If you fall into the second category, you might be able to pull off a short dress unless you are planning to join the limbo competition. The same rule applies to the short dress as to the rest: go colour, glitter, sparkle and velvet.
Most of you will accessorise, but play it safe with a bold belt, sparkling necklace and perhaps some red lipstick as your going-out-at-night thing, but this season, given the new dressed-up mood that’s sweeping through fashion (partly thanks to Alessandro Michele at Gucci), I think it’s time to plunder the dressing-up box of your imagination and see what happens. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?
Have a vintage moment
As always, since I’m such a good friend (not just because I really like to try on clothes), I’ve tried a few outfits for you. Personally I don’t like to spend a lot of money on party wear and items I might only wear on a very few occasions, so I went to H&M where you can truly find some amazing things for less than 500 kroner.
Or even better, try to find something vintage. I’ll leave it up to you to make the final decision, but remember that this is your time to shine.
About
Jenny Egsten-Ericson
As a Swede who spent eleven years in London and New York, coming to Denmark four years ago had its ups and downs. Having worked in fashion most of her professional life, Jenny (@jennyfashjam) will be giving her opinion on our dress sense: the right choices and the bad ones.