Outfit for a “casual” work dinner

[FreshStart2025]

My company are taking us overseas for a work-do, staying overnight. In the evening, there will be a dinner. I’ve asked what the dress code is (my wardrobe is seriously bare) and have been told nothing too fancy, a dress/jeans and a nice top. I’m in my 40s and a size 10. Got to be chilled but smart. Any ideas? I’m stressing already as I don’t get out much / spend much money on myself (single Mum 4 kids!). Budget £100. Any style gurus out there?!

The OP says she has shirt dresses, trousers and blouses. She could buy a very decent top from Arket or Cos to wear with existing trousers, or trousers from there to wear with her blouses. Or a dress that would work with her existing white trainers.

She could, but dress and white trainers is over, and does she really want to wear her work trousers out for a casual 'jolly'? (Her words). I wouldn't, it'll look like she has no other clothes.

Exactly why I put it on the thread, such a versatile piece of clothing and at 45% off it's well within OP's budget.
PS Not that you would ever wish for it but at the last funeral I went to, 2 people I know had to buy a black dress for it because the family wanted attendee to dress respectfully, this dress would also do for such an occasion, sans jewellery.

Just a reminder, the dress.
would go with just about any type of shoes, depending on the vibe.

You have so little in your wardrobe that you should really stick to basics that are going to work for you in future. I'd be inclined to go for a really simple look like this. You can source the pieces anywhere, at any price level. You can dress it up or down. You can wear trainers or dressier shoes and you can use the trousers for work.

Are you the fashion police, judge and jury?
I wear a dress and white trainers sometimes. Come and arrest me.
I don't know what her work trousers look like; they might go great with a simple, structured Cos top or Arket light jumper.
And honestly, if people noticed she was wearing clothes she'd <<gasp>> worn before, and judged her on them, I'd say that was very much their problem.

It depends on where you work. I work in a “trendy” young industry and someone wearing formal black trousers and a silk blouse to a casual social event would look ridiculously out of touch and out of place.

I’d go for jeans and a nice top as they suggested. Something black probably and then a nice necklace!

For an evening work dinner in October?

Honestly I really hope the OPs of these threads take the comments with a pinch of salt because some of the advice is batshit.

??? I'm giving my opinion on an internet forum about clothes... It's not that serious. All I'm saying is, Arket and Cos are under the same group as H&M. For someone whose budget is tight, why splurge when the cheaper option is more than adequate?

But the options you suggested were nowhere near adequate. It may be that you really can’t see the difference but others will - and may well judge silently.

But equally importantly, the OP is stressed because she doesn’t feel she has anything suitable to wear. She needs to move towards a situation where she has appropriate clothes already in her wardrobe for any work eventuality. Every time she buys a new item it needs to be good quality, and it needs to be versatile and long lasting, and it needs to showcase her as a grown up professional. She doesn’t need a £20 mini dress in a crappy fabric that’s going to turn ragged and faded and limp after two washes. She needs clothes she can still rely on five years hence, to go with the boots and coat she’ll have bought in the meantime. That way she can avoid wardrobe stress and concentrate on her job.

If you know what you’re buying, more expensive clothes are more expensive for a reason. You don’t have to pay full price (you can wait for the sales or buy pre-owned) but - God, I dunno - these things seem so patently obvious to me I really don’t have the words to explain …

🤷🏽‍♀️

I agree with the above advice about building a wardrobe which will stand you in good stead over a longer period of time

Look out for a small boutique type place which stocks https://www.josephribkoff.com/en-gb/ and enjoy especially the sales

@DisneyHag oh ffs, of course they're adequate. H&M, Uniqlo, Mango etc are all affordable but not necessarily crap. I have a range of items in my wardrobe, of various prices, and you can try to patronise me and put me down all you like, but I'm not going to rise to it. It seems so patently obvious to me that different people have different budgets and requirements and styles. OP doesn't need a dress she can rely on for five years, she needs a dress for next week. Also at no point did she refer to needing to look overly professional, in fact the description was 'casual'. You seem fixated on the fact she needs to concentrate on her job, the woman is just looking for a nice outfit for dinner.

Why are "jeans and a nice top" suggested so often?

If "jeans and a nice top" is the easy answer why are there almost daily threads about the angst of "what jeans are in style/ what footwear can I wear with [insert jean style]/ what style of jeans suits a short/ tall/ medium apple/ pear"/ can I still wear skinnies?"

And goodness knows what a "nice top" is.

Honestly, far from being difficult, Cos is the easy answer. The person who designed that asymmetric draped dress or oversized shirt dress has done the hard work for you.

Absolutely concur with this. @DisneyHag's comments too.

Have shopped at Cos since it first opened on the corner of Great Marlborough and Regent Street. At one point, my wardrobe was probably around 75% COS. At no point since I left school (three decades ago) have I ever owned, much less worn a blazer.

The obsession with COS on MN is laughable. I'd rather eat my own head than wear an "asymmetric draped dress". Some posters feel so superior for shopping there but the style is most definitely not for everyone.

How do you feel about wide leg trousers OP?

@FreshStart2025 I go back to my original comment, please speak to your female colleagues who are going. It depends on the company you work for but at mine even the CEO wears jeans and trainers (and we're a large global company so not some small 30 odd people UK business). He actually looked really good in his ankle grazing chinos and white Ralph Lauren trainers with a white tshirt, equally my boss does the middle class posh boy look to a T and our female CPO wore chinos, white Tshirt and white trainers. So no Cos in sight.

People will dress up if it's say a Gala dinner or awards night and do the whole nice frock and suit but for a casual dinner jeans would be fine.

For me I'd do jeans or I'd go my whole rock chick and wear my biker boots with a mini skirt and leather biker jacket. But that's my style and I'd be happy and comfortable in it.

FWIW I actually liked the River Island dress, if you could find something similar but with less weird sleeves it could work with a biker jacket. This may be a little short for you (although the model is 5ft9 so would be knee length on the average person) and may not be your taste but something like this could also work.

https://www.superdry.com/womens/dresses/details/261712/merino-long-sleeve-knit-dress-urban-chic-marl

Absolutely! The irony is these same posters moan about people always recommending Joe Browns or Popsy.

I actually own some bits from Cos, so it's absolutely not the case that I don't like it. I just appreciate that it's not the be all and end all. It is basically posh H&M so I don't understand the superiority.

COS is out of the question anyway as there isn’t one near me and I’m not travelling into London especially. I don’t feel I can wear jeans as I’ve only got a couple of pairs and I’m wearing those during the day. I’ve ordered black and natural fitted jumper dresses to try and black heeled knee boots, seems safe. But definitely going to hit the shops tomorrow as even if the jumper dress is ok, I probably need some sort of coat. I only have a jean jacket (no!) or a thick winter coat which seems overkill. Wish me luck! Nothing like a bit of pressure. The stress of the clothes situation always ruins these type of events for me, I think my financial situation is a lot worse than most people in the office so it adds extra pressure.

(Posted before OP’s latest post. Not in response to it!)

Oh for goodness’ sake!

This is getting ridiculous now.

I Do Not Care Where The OP Buys Her Clothes.

I Do Not Have Shares In Cos. I Have Not Bought Anything There For Several Years (I haven’t needed to.) But I certainly don’t wear what I own to ‘feel superior’.

How do you feel about wide leg trousers OP?

@BitOutOfPractice - Cos sells countless pairs of wide leg trousers. Just like other shops.

even the CEO wears jeans and trainers

@xxSideshowAuntSallyxx Cos sells jeans and probably trainers. And ankle grazing chinos and white T shirts. Jeans, biker boots, mini skirts, leather jackets - you could have bought them all there over the past fifteen years.

What is going on here?

I don’t give a fig about posters racing to cut me down. This is an anonymous forum. But it seems really, really weird that people fall over themselves to dissuade the OP from shopping at a relatively good quality mainstream shop they clearly know nothing about.

Weird and disheartening and slightly hilarious.

(And thank God this isn’t a popularity contest because some of you I thought better of …)

Go on a trip to charity shops. I'm off for my shift there in 5 minutes and it's such a treasure trove (modern and vintage). I'm wearing jeans (bought new) and a blouse from a charity shop currently. I would wear with boots rather than trainers for a restaurant though, white trainers are too summery

Oh no, somebody on the internet has changed their opinion of somebody 😂 October 3rd was yesterday, but the mean girls are clearly still out.

Sounds lovely OP. Trench coats are very versatile, or maybe a leather jacket?

Having just done a casual dinner with work I would suggest some wide legged jeans with a nice blouse and flat pumps or boots. Nice handbag and a jacket. Budget would probably cover jeans top and boots so do you have a jacket already that would work ? I would also check out charity shops. The blouse I wore at the work dinner was £8 from a charity shop.

Couldn’t agree more. It’s baffling to me that anyone would wear an embroidered kaftan to a work event even in the height of summer!

This thread got weird.

I like Cos but I always go to a shop because online ordering is a pain with their oversize look. Also lately some thin skimpy fabrics so they are by no means infallible.
You might try Uniqlo especially their collaborations with Ines or others. Often decent and reasonably priced wide leg trousers and tops. I just bought a very plain charcoal grey dress in wool mix which I will dress up with jewellery.