Bedrijfsetentje

Business Dinner = Bedrijfsetentje

This weekend my family's company hosted a dinner party, something they try and do at least once a year.  We've gone to an array of restaurants through the years, one of the most memorable until now was Landgoed Wolfslaar.  It's a Michelin Star restaurant located in a beautiful old villa tucked away in the woods.  This years choice was also quite unique, we dined inside an old windmill.  De Meulen is a quaint restaurant attached to a historical windmill called De Korenaar.  I wish I could say this post was about the delectable food (I'll include a couple pics thanks to a colleague Suzanne) or all of the lovely people that work at our company but it's not.  It's about my outfit (my husband is probably rolling his eyes right now).  I knew right away that I wanted to wear an unworn black dress that has been hanging in my closet for over year.  It's a great dress, skin tight yet forgiving, falls just below the knee, and has a boat neck.  I've pulled it out many times and yet it always seemed just that bit too much.  Finally I had an event to wear it to, the only problem was, it's sleeveless and it's very cold here.  This meant I was going to have to layer it up in order to wear it to the business dinner.  I'm not into fashion, and have very little understanding of clothes, so the best idea I had was to wear a cardigan and pantyhose.  (Of course I also asked around hoping someone would have a better suggestion but nothing suited me - even asked Party411.)  I made my husband watch as I tried on at least 6 different cardigans and boleros, all of which he just laughed at, saying I looked like the preachers wife.  I eventually settled on a small silvery bolero (aka shrug), it was the most flattering of all the unflattering cardigans, if that makes sense.  Once dressed for the party I realized I had completely dulled the outfit down.  The black dress, black pantyhose, and black heels all blended together.  And the bolero kept me semi warm but took away from the neckline and fit of the dress.  But no matter what, I knew I wasn't too flashy and I was more on the conservative classic side of style.  Being that I am the GM's wife and daughter-in-law of the owners it was appropriate.  Then as everyone filtered into the party I realized I was dress like all of the women about 20 yrs older than me and that all of the women my age were wearing skin tight black pants (also an option I had shown my husband)!  Arg!  People tried to be polite and say that I looked nice, but I know what they were thinking, ha-ha!  Besides the uncomfortable pantyhose which I hated from the moment I struggled to put them on, I also had to suffer through shoulder pain.  Somehow the day before the party I hurt a muscle in my shoulder, the pain slowly grew until I could barely move my right arm (and I'm right handed).  I managed to feed myself during the dinner, but my husband did have to pour my water and help me with my jacket... in the end he looked quite the gentleman.  No matter the outfit or pain, it was a lovely company dinner and I look forward to the next one... thanks to the in-laws for a great party!