Outfit Of The Week 12/15/24 – 12/21/24

This week’s edition of the “OOTW” features an outfit I wore to the office and then my office Christmas party!

This outfit actually required a little reworking at the last second due to an unforeseen issue with the jacket I intended to wear.

Here is the outfit in its original iteration, which I felt struck a nice balance between festive for the party and a little formal for the office…

Black Watch trousers.

White Oxford-cloth, button-down shirt.

Navy blazer.

Black shoes and black belt.

Unfortunately, while I was getting my clothes ready, I realized the lining of my blazer was coming out! I’ve only owned this jacket for three-and-a-half years and have worn it roughly a dozen times. Not impressed with Brooks Brothers on this one!

Obviously, I couldn’t wear that jacket. I still wanted to wear the trousers, though, so I decided to go with a different vibe for the outfit entirely. Instead of “festive and a little formal”, I decided to go with “festive and a little cozy”!

I replaced the navy blazer with a fabulously soft, cream-colored, cable-knit, shawl-collared cardigan sweater and swapped out the black shoes and belt for brown ones. The outfit went from “martini at the bar” to “eggnog by the fire” with only a couple little tweaks!

I usually wear a version of The Perfect Business Casual Uniform to the office so I am guilty of deviating from that a bit with this outfit. However, I feel the cardigan serves a similar purpose as a sport coat, since it’s an elegant over-layer. I also felt the cardigan/plaid pants combination looked well-placed at the Irish pub where the party was held.

Over the top, I wore my leather flight jacket and my tweed cap. I was excited that I was able to wear my leather jacket considering I was no longer planning to wear the navy blazer (which would have necessitated an actual overcoat). It’s interesting how one change to an outfit necessitates a series of other changes.

While I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to wear the jacket I originally intended, I feel like the outfit ultimately came together nicely. It also speaks to the benefit of having a number of pieces in your wardrobe that can be worn together.

Have a wonderful weekend!