Style Solution: One Strategic (And Chic!) Dress Goes From Work To Party—Cubicle To Cocktails, If You Will…

Earlier this week, I was invited to attend the Whitney Museum’s 2014 Biennial opening party and aside from the usual what-to-wear to a party concerns (what is “festive” really supposed to mean, anyway?), I had an additional limitation: time. It’s been a super busy week here at work, so I knew there was no way I’d have time to go home and change (or get a blowout, or have my makeup done, or really do anything other five minutes in front of the bathroom mirror). So I chose a dress I could do a “superman” with—i.e. make a complete look change in a phone booth, basically.

I started with one of my favorite frocks, my BCBG “Katia” dress (fitting, as BCBG was a sponsor of the tony event). It’s one of those pieces that gets compliments every time I wear it, and is about as close to the literal definition of “festive” as anything I own. As is, the dress is too revealing on the top for work, so for day, I made it office-appropriate by pulling a black crewneck sweater over it—and tada!— it became a kicky little skirt. The trick to the sweater is to make sure the fit is right—this one, from the Gap, is almost cropped in length, so it didn’t interfere with the skirt detail, and was fitted without being tight. Black opaque tights, minimal jewelry, and some mascara, and done.

To transition to evening cocktails at the contemporary art museum, I ditched the sweater, changed into sheer hose (normally I’d go bare-legged, but it was 20 degrees, so…), used the curling iron I keep in my desk drawer to give myself some bombshell waves, put on my favorite matte red lipstick and some diamond earrings, and headed up town.

And of course, accessories are always important, so I called in some serious arm charms–my good friends, singer Seth Kessel and model Eduardo Ramos. Great way to finish a glamorous evening look, no?