So you are saying we should come to a black tie party dressed in the same
pantsuits we wear to meet with our clients? 
Just because it is a work function… 
I think dressy can be “slinky” or classic. Both can be tasteful but not office attire. I’ve stuck with classic instead of slinky / sexy when attending functions that are full of work colleagues. Of course, YMMV. I prefer slinky/sexy elsewhere.
I would wear something like this to a work-related party:
http://shop.nordstrom.com/s/bcbgmaxazrialacevest-overlay-sheath-dress/4134186?origin=category-personalizedsort&contextualcategoryid=0&fashionColor=&resultback=922.7272527276981
Anthropologists of clothing say that that high-status people keep flesh covered. Revealing clothing lowers one’s place in a hierarchy. This is true for both men and women. Look at Anna Wintour. She’s always well dressed but never revealingly so.
This is going to sound very weird, I realize, and I haven’t quite worked out these feelings and therefore can’t really articulate them well – but I secretly hate it at law firm functions when the wives of the male partners show up looking way better than the female partners. It’s not that the wives are bimbos or trophy wives – they are not; they are, almost every one of them, highly educated, intelligent, and often highly accomplished. But they put in a lot of effort into the holiday party attire. Believe me, the male partners do not respect the female partners more for looking like frumps. In so many work settings, there is a strong undercurrent of power and hierarchy and good looks – not overtly sexual looks but undeniable good looks – are a source of power in this world. Seriously hate to say it but it is true. (I’ve recently left the big law firm I was at for 20 years so I have a bit of distance) . This translates to there being more power in looking sufficiently good in formal wear than in playing it overly safe – with too sexy being the worse state of all.
No, BunsenBurner, I guess I am saying what HImom ( #41) said. Classy, not slinky/sexy. Unless, as I said you are trying to meet someone or attract someone. But the repercussions of your dress being slinky/sexy might be damaging. Just saying.
As I was the first non-clerical female our firm hired, I feel I always looked as good or better than the partner’s wives (probably being a few decades younger helped a lot). I agree that looking good AND appropriate in dressy attire is a plus, while looking sexy (especially for females) is NOT good if you want to be taken seriously.
Lol, morrismm. I think my pantsuits need some rest, so this would do for me this year:
http://m.shop.nordstrom.com/s/herve-leger-off-shoulder-bandage-dress/3401698
In turquoise, it had been worn to a couple of weddings and work galas, and the best of all worlds - it is already in my closet, thank you, Outnet.
At first I skimmed that and incorrectly thought you were saying that because of the kilts you saw St Andrew’s Balls…
Love the dress, BB, but this just highlights the point that it all depends on the body in the dress. Again, this may sound weird, but from your posts I get the very clear picture of someone with a very (for lack of a better word) “neat” body. Perhaps well endowed on top but nothing overflowing, certainly not in tummy, hips or butt area. No Kardashian curves, in other words. I can imagine that you will look great and appropriately sexy in that dress. Probably about as good as anyone our age can look in that dress. Someone else, with a slightly more “sloppy” body type, might look every bit as alluring in the dress from a sexiness standpoint (and that’s important because they may look GREAT) but might nontheless look totally inappropriate in the dress at a work function. So the body type for me is key.
(Then there’s me, whose body type from the front (as my sisters so kindly put it) is Flat Stanley-run-over-by-a-steam-roller. But with a big butt glued to the back. Think Olive Oyl with a big butt. Could never pull off that look but I have enough sense not to try!)
I re-read the entire thread and I’m not sure I know what “slinky” is. Tight? Form fitting? Thin material? Skin? Shiny material?
nottelling, thanks, that is as slinky as I will ever go.
JOD, I think you will be able to tell what “slinky” is when you see it.
I think that dress would look fine in an athletic body as well. I agree that HOW one LOOKS in a dress is the important thing. D, because she is petite and athletic can wear some things that look great on her but way too sexy on me. I guess it’s hard to define the line between looking good and “too sexy.” It has something to do with showing too much or having something that is TOO tight/thin and maybe too “blingy.”
Okay, I think I am refining my theory:
Frumpy equals vulnerable equals bad at fancy work event.
Sexy little pot belly (or other equally sexy figure flaw shown off) equals vulnerable equals bad at fancy work event.
Great body without vulnerable flaws showing in flattering form fitting outfit at fancy work event equals power equals good. Even if objectively sexy. See Michelle Ovama and our own @BunsenBurner.
Trying-too-hard for sexiness equals vulnerable equals bad.
This theory boils down to: vulnerable equals bad. So my theory depends not only on the dress snd the bod but the attitude and confidence with which you wear it.
Is “slinky” danceable?
I have worn dresses that look a lot like this one at many events, including a retirement party honoring one of the former partners of the law firm I worked at decades ago, bar association fund raising dinner, weddings, etc. I believe this dress looks classy in a good way but not “slinky/sexy” and have gotten many compliments on dresses like this.
Oh yes, have danced in that dress.
@BunsenBurner
I splurged on an Herve Leger bandage number for my HS reunion. Those dresses are a miracle of Spanx-like engineering.
I love Herve Leger.
Wow, I love that Harve Leger dress - so classic! it would absolutely be a splurge, but could be worn for so many things! I need to stay away from BB links - just kidding!
Easy answer…I don’t own a slinky outfit…so no.
Is this Herve Leger a “power dress” for a senior level professional? Or too slinky?
Thid dress hits much lower on the leg for a normal height woman.