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New York Today

New York Today: Deciphering Holiday Dress Codes

Dressing for December.Credit...Rebecca Smeyne for The New York Times

Updated, 8:38 a.m.

Good morning on this frigid Friday.

It’s party time.

But asking New Yorkers how they get dressed for holiday balls, office celebrations and other seasonal affairs is like asking them what makes a good bagel: You won’t hear the same answer twice.

“Black tie optional” is baffling. “Holiday festive,” also a head-scratcher. Should you wear a Christmas sweater? Wrap yourself with lights and tinsel? Put on some pine-tree perfume?

To help clear up our winter wardrobe questions, we turned to some New York fashion experts for advice: Vanessa Friedman, chief fashion critic for The New York Times; Stacey Bendet, the founder of Alice & Olivia; Cassandra Jones, a senior vice president at Macy’s; Davidson Petit-Frère, a founder of the men’s custom suit label Musika Frère; Anna Wisniewski, a director at the clothing subscription service Trunk Club; and Sarah Tam, head of fashion at Rent the Runway.

What is the one dress phrase people are using on invitations this season?

Friedman: “Festive Dress” still seems to be the most popular. Sometimes “Creative Black Tie.”

Bendet: “Glamour” is the new black tie — less formal, but festive and fancy!

Petit-Frère: FORMAL (in all caps).

Is there a new or unusual dress term you’re seeing?

Wisniewski: “Dress to Impress” and “After 5.”

Petit-Frère: “Diced Up” — it’s a new way of way saying “fresh” or rocking a “clean” look.

How do you decode those tricky dress codes?

Jones: Look at the invite itself to find subtle hints: The overall design, the time of day and the hosts themselves are some of your best clues. If the invitation to an 8 p.m. cocktail party came from your ostentatious aunt on metallic card stock, opt for an outfit on the dressier side.

Bendet: I like to dress in theme specifically coordinating with décor. For my friend Amirah [Kassem]’s Flour Shop rainbow cake store opening, I dressed in full rainbow sequins.

What does ‘holiday festive’ mean?

Friedman: Another way to think about it is “more fun than what you would wear to the office Christmas party.” Unless it is the office Christmas party. In which case, play it safe.

Jones: Mix brocade, velvet, metallic shine and look-at-me accessories all in one look. This is the season to pile it all on!

Bendet: A velvet suit for a woman, or a chic jumpsuit, a sparkly dress.

Petit-Frère: Gold and silver are also big this time of year, so go bolder with your metallic accessories. You can really push the thematic dressing with adding an ugly Christmas sweater to a tailored look, or holiday-themed socks with your dress shoes.

Tam: A metallic jacquard jacket or sequin skirt paired with solid top. If wearing shine is not for you, metallic accessories are the perfect choice.

Here’s what else is happening:

It’s Friday, and we’re chillin’.

It may feel as nippy as 30 degrees as you head out this morning.

A winter weather advisory has been issued for Saturday morning through early Sunday, with an 80 percent chance of snow. Two to four inches of snow are expected, but the flurries should ease up by Saturday evening.

Sunday will be clear but equally cold, so think toasty thoughts.

As dozens of subway stations close or are scheduled to close for renovations, commuters and business owners ask, Is it worth it? [New York Times]

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Business has been sparse for Mohammad Rahman’s fruit stand in Astoria, Queens, since the 36th Avenue subway station closed for renovations.Credit...An Rong Xu for The New York Times

The city said it would place 400 unassigned teachers in classrooms full time. So far it’s placed 41, mostly in high-poverty schools. [New York Times]

In “About New York,” the columnist Jim Dwyer tells us about the army of brown-clad delivery workers that make online holiday shopping possible — and what it costs them. [New York Times]

A yoga teacher convicted of slashing the throat of a young dancer from Ohio in 2005 wants a new trial, but a judge isn’t budging. [New York Times]

To those hurt by the G.O.P. tax plan, the House Republicans from New York and New Jersey who voted for it say: Blame your state. [New York Times]

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Representative Tom Reed, left, was one of four House Republicans from New York to vote for his party’s tax plan.Credit...J. Scott Applewhite/Associated Press

A developer had big plans for a 19-acre parcel of land with panoramic views of Manhattan, but action by local officials blocked the project. Now, in a lawsuit, the developer is crying conspiracy. [New York Times]

The star prosecution witness in the trial of a Turkish banker charged with violating American sanctions on Iran has been sued by his former cellmate, who claims the witness sexually assaulted him in a Manhattan jail. [New York Times]

Juggling family matters in Florida and New York, and still squeezing in class. [New York Times]

Lawyers for the convicted former State Senator John Sampson of Brooklyn argued for his case to be thrown out in the United States Court of Appeals in Manhattan. Prosecutors argued for a new trial. [Brooklyn Daily Eagle]

Six people were injured when two livery cabs collided in what appeared to be an episode of road rage in Lower Manhattan. [New York Post]

It’s the last day to nominate an exemplary citizen for New York Today’s New Yorkers of the Year contest. You can do so by filling out the form at the bottom of this column.

Today’s Metropolitan Diary: “Leaving Manhattan.”

For a global look at what’s happening, see Your Morning Briefing.

Families can enjoy “The Christmas Show,” an annual “rhinestone-studded series of songs and dances” at St. George Theater on Staten Island. 7 p.m., with shows on Saturday and Sunday. [Tickets start at $15]

Toast the weekend at a whiskey tasting — with some finger food and some history — at the Old Stone House at Washington Park in Brooklyn. 7 p.m. [$45, tickets here]

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet fuses jazz, funk, blues and world music in a performance at Flushing Town Hall in Queens. 8 p.m. [$16, tickets here]

Join the Bayside Tigers for “Saved by the 90s,” a tribute concert with music from the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and other legends of the decade, at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg. Midnight. [$10]

Devils host Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. (MSG+). Rangers at Capitals, 7 p.m. (MSG).

Watch “The New York Times Close Up,” featuring The Times’s Op-Ed columnist Paul Krugman and other guests. Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 1:30 p.m. and Sunday at 12:30 p.m. on CUNY-TV.

Alternate-side parking is suspended.

Weekend travel hassles: Check subway disruptions and a list of street closings.

Saturday

It’s SantaCon Saturday at local bars. Organizers have asked participants to abide by “Santa’s Code” (respect the city and obey the law), and here are a few requests from neighborhood bartenders. 10 a.m.

Check out the Holiday Train Show, a display of model locomotives zipping through famous city landmarks, at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. [Prices vary]

BUST Magazine hosts the BUST Craftacular — a music festival and crafts fair with demos and workshops — at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., through Sunday. [Ticket prices vary]

In conjunction with Fiasco Theater’s “Twelfth Night,” the directors Noah Brody and Ben Steinfeld speak on Randy Cohen’s “Person Place Thing” talk show about their artistic influences, at Classic Stage Company in the East Village. 5:30 p.m. [$9]

Nets vs. Heat, 6 p.m. (YES). Islanders at Bruins, 7 p.m. (MSG+2). Rangers host Devils, 7 p.m. (MSG+). Knicks at Bulls, 8 p.m. (MSG).

Sunday

The annual New York Dog Film Festival, with family-friendly movies celebrating the love between dogs and people, at the SVA Theater in Chelsea. 2:45 and 4:45 p.m. [$15, tickets here]

The artist Julianne Swartz and the vocalist Ali Dineen use ceramic and glass objects to generate sounds, part of the “Sonic Arcade: Shaping Space With Sound” exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design on Columbus Circle. 4 p.m. [$20]

Learn about “microscopic forests of the sea” with the marine biologist Ed DeLong at “Oceans of Wonder,” a Secret Science Club lecture at the Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn. 8 p.m. [Free]

Looking ahead: “The First Amendment: The Constitution on Campus,” a lecture by the Harvard Law School professor Randall Kennedy, on Dec. 11 at the New-York Historical Society. [Tickets here]

Giants host Cowboys, 1 p.m. (FOX). Jets at Broncos, 4:05 p.m. (CBS). Knicks host Hawks, 7:30 p.m. (MSG).

For more events, see The New York Times’s Arts & Entertainment guide.

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Old friends, together again.Credit...Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters

We’re exactly one week out from “Star Wars: The Last Jedi.”

And New Yorkers, spirited as ever, are already feeling the Force.

The Empire Saber Guild, a New York group committed (in true Jedi fashion) to “spreading hope and good will wherever we go,” is offering lightsaber choreography and acting lessons to aspiring Jedi and Sith warriors.

The final workshops of the year are being held tonight at 8 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. at the Chelsea Recreation Center in Manhattan. (You can join by emailing EmpireSaberGuild@gmail.com.)

Not keen on defending the galaxy? Catch up on some “Star Wars” reading instead: Mark Hamill’s reflections on Luke Skywalker; Prince Harry and Prince William’s cameo as Stormtroopers; the director Rian Johnson’s responsibilities picking up where J.J. Abrams left off; and what to remember about “The Force Awakens.”

New York Today is a morning roundup that is published weekdays at 6 a.m. If you don’t get it in your inbox already, you can sign up to receive it by email here.

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Follow the New York Today columnists, Alexandra Levine and Jonathan Wolfe, on Twitter.

You can find the latest New York Today at nytoday.com.

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