Over 40 Fashion, Beauty & Style

Are you having people over for a housewarming party or similar get-together at home?  Even if you rarely entertain, you’ll probably end up having a party for a life-changing event like a housewarming, a special birthday or anniversary.  But regardless of the event, this much is true – the hostess needs a fabulous party outfit!

So, You’re Having a Party…

Your to-do list is loooong, and you’re beginning to wonder why you signed up to have people over in the first place.  But planning your housewarming party outfit should be the fun part, right?

Now, if you don’t entertain often, then know this – you’re gonna be on your feet all night.  You’ll be moving around a LOT.  And, with a bunch of people in your house and all that moving around, it’s going to be hot as balls.  You’re gonna sweat.  (Tip – turn the A/C waaaaay down mid-afternoon…I don’t care if it’s cold outside, you’ll thank me later!)

The Outfit

Yes, you need a fabulous outfit.  But you also need to enjoy your party, so please wear something comfortable!

Back in October, H and I moved into a new home.  We just recently hosted our own housewarming party.  (It was actually a “holiday/housewarming” party).

I really enjoyed what I wore that evening.  It was comfortable, yet festive enough for such a special event.  So, I’m going to give you the details of my housewarming party outfit to provide some inspiration.

Plus, I’ll share some more tips for selecting a hostess outfit. This way, you can easily plan your outfit whenever you decide to entertain at home.  Hopefully this will help you stop stressing about your party outfit.  Then, you can check that item off your list!

Planning a Housewarming Party Hostess Outfit

Consider the Party Attire

Once our holiday housewarming party invitations were mailed, our friends were calling and texting to ask what to wear.  I told them, “Cocktail attire, whatever that means to you – just wear something festive!”

Now, make no mistake – our housewarming party was going to be a “cocktail” party.  And since I’m “old-school”, I would have loved for the guests to show up in cocktail dresses and suits.  But lemme tell ya – with our circle of friends – um, no.  That just wasn’t happening.

And honestly, I care more about our friends celebrating with us than what they wore.  I knew that most of our guests would prefer to wear jeans than a cocktail dress or a suit.  We wanted everyone to be comfortable and have fun.  Therefore, I pretty much left the attire up to each guest.

Consider What Guests Will Wear

Now, I generally like to dress up and feel glamorous.  Therefore, at this point I began to think about what my party outfit would be, as hostess of this shindig.

Based on my response to the dress code inquiries, I anticipated that most guests would arrive in jeans.  Now, there would be a few dresses here and there.  Some would be the poor souls from H’s office that didn’t realize they could get away with jeans.  The other few would be my girls that just love to dress up, like me!

But, since I knew most everyone would be wearing jeans, I decided to put together an elegant jeans outfit.  I wanted to select an outfit that would make everyone feel comfortable and appropriately dressed, regardless of their definition of “cocktail attire”.  This way, I’d look glam enough to blend in with those few dresses that rolled in!

We are having an extremely mild (HOT!) winter here in New Orleans. Luckily, the night of our housewarming party was very cold (cold for us, at least – the temperature was in the mid forties). Therefore, I was happy that I could wear some fave boots and not worry about sweating all evening!

My Outfit

For my housewarming party hostess outfit I decided on dark skinny jeans with a dressy lace off-the shoulder top (both from Ann Taylor) and tall low-heeled boots. The top was designed to be a bit flowy.

“Flowy ” is not really my thing, so I tied a velvet sash at the waist, which gave the top a peplum effect.

My Accessories & Makeup

I added a simple velvet choker, shimmery silver chandelier earrings, silver cuff bracelet, and a burgundy matte lip.

Accessories

The gorgeous bracelet I wore is the Marcellino Cuff, from local designer Mignon Faget.  I have been a collector of her designs for many years.  This is actually one of my favorite pieces.

Makeup

This Stila Stay All Day Liquid Lipstick (mine was “Ricco”) goes on smoothly and dries to a gorgeous matte finish.  It won’t wear off and does not feel drying to the lips.

A key tip for wearing matte lip color is to exfoliate the day before.  Because, if your lips are even the slightest bit dry,  a matte lip will show flakiness.  Also, be sure to use lip balm and prime your lips with lip primer or foundation  prior to applying.

5 Tips for Selecting Your Hostess Outfit

1. When you’re hosting a party, it’s important to wear clothing and shoes that are “comfortably glam”.
2. Consider what your guests will wear, and plan a party outfit that won’t make them feel over or under-dressed.
3. Remember that it’s easy to dress up more “casual” clothing with accessories.  Even makeup and the way you wear your hair can make an outfit more festive.
4. Fabrics such as matte jersey look elegant, yet are extremely comfortable and will look good all evening.
5. Flats or very low-heeled shoes are a must, because the hostess rarely sits down!

Get these tips on a convenient checklist to help you decide what to wear the next time you entertain at home: