What does "holiday dress casual" mean?

My understanding is that it is not black tie or cocktail dresses, but dressier or more festive than what you would wear on a day to day basis.

- First, what kind of an organization do you work for?
– Where is the event being held?
– Large group or small?
– What’s your general age range?
– Are you going straight from work to the party, too?

No cheesy sweaters are necessary and you don’t need to drop a lot of money either; I think it all depends on how involved you want to get.

A nice, festive button down in a rich red shade, paired with nice black pants/shoes will work. Your girlfriend can also try a black or grey bottom (pants or skirt) with a beaded top or cardigan, or something with a little glitter or sparkle to it.

This will give you a little bit of a visual (see office party section), but by no means am I suggesting you spend BR prices. There are cheap knock-offs of basic holiday pieces at Target:

http://www.bananarepublic.com/browse/category.do?cid=12069&mlink=5002,349964,1&clink=349964

It’s a party for the officers and their spouses for my military aviation squadron. There are going to be anywhere from 100–200 people, and it’s being held at a local club/bar. Ages range from early twenties to late forties, and there will be enough time to go home from work before the party. I was planning on a button-up/dress type shirt with jeans, but now I’m wondering if that’s too casual (I’m not very fashion-savvy. My wardrobe consists of lots of jeans, t-shirts and board shorts).

Thanks for the link. I’ll forward it to my girlfriend.

Wear some mistletoe on your lower back.

Sounds like a nice affair. I don’t think jeans would be appropriate though. By “Holiday dress casual” I think they mean try to look special. The button down dress shirt would be fine but you need some sort of slacks to pair with it. Think casual but elegant. For your lady as well. Please no beaded spangly sweater with applque snowmen or the like. Think elegant fabrics. Velvet, silk, wool, courdoroy. If your mates are used to seeing you in “board shorts” and tee-shirts (deep breath) think how much you’ll impress when you show up looking better than anyone in the room. (always my goal) I think we need to go shopping together.