Thanksgiving Outfit Ideas: 12 Looks With Room for Seconds

A Thanksgiving outfit has one job the rest of your fall wardrobe doesn't: it has to feel as good at 6 p.m., after seconds and pie, as it did when you walked in the door. Every look below starts with a waist that gives, adds a fall color and a layer you can shed once the oven has been on for five hours. Find the setting you're dressing for, from Grandma's good china to a restaurant booth to the backyard football game, and copy the outfit.

Thanksgiving Outfits for Women, Matched to Where You're Eating

1. Dinner at home with family: stretch jeans and a rust sweater

Dark straight jeans with some stretch in the denim, a chunky crewneck in rust or pumpkin, suede loafers or clean white sneakers. The detail that matters is length: pick a sweater that falls a couple of inches past the waistband so it sits over the button, and nobody can tell when you've quietly made room. This is the casual Thanksgiving outfit for a house where everyone's in socks by the second football game.

2. Grandma's good-china dinner: an olive sweater dress and tights

A knit midi dress in olive, burgundy or camel, opaque black tights and knee boots with a low block heel. Knit is the reason this works as a Thanksgiving dress, since it stretches with you through three courses instead of pulling across the stomach like a woven dress with a fitted waist. Add a thin belt only if it's loose enough to leave on after dessert.

3. Hosting: a ribbed turtleneck and pull-on trousers

A fitted ribbed turtleneck or long-sleeve tee in black or chocolate, wide-leg pull-on trousers in camel or grey, flat loafers or house shoes with a grippy sole. The fitted sleeve is what makes it a host's outfit. It pushes up past the elbow and stays there while you baste, lift the roasting pan and pull the rolls out, where a bell sleeve would drag through everything on the stove. Keep an apron by the oven, take it off when the doorbell rings, and you're dressed for both halves of the day.

4. Your partner's family or the in-laws: a plaid midi skirt and a fine knit

A cream or oatmeal fine-knit sweater tucked loosely into a plaid pleated midi skirt with an elastic back, brown knee boots, small gold earrings. If it's your first Thanksgiving with a boyfriend's or girlfriend's family, this is the outfit that looks like you made an effort without looking like a job interview, and the midi length means no tugging when you sit on a low couch or end up on the floor playing with a nephew. Not a skirt person? Wear tailored wide-leg trousers with the same sweater. Fine knit beats chunky here because it looks neater from across the table.

5. Thanksgiving at a restaurant: a satin skirt and a soft sweater

A bias-cut satin midi skirt in chocolate, bronze or deep green, a soft crewneck sweater on top, heeled ankle boots and a wool coat. Restaurants tend to sit a notch dressier than a family living room, and you'll be upright in a chair the whole meal rather than sinking into a sofa, so this is the setting for a little shine. Most satin midi skirts have an elastic waist, which makes this the rare dressy outfit that's still comfortable by the pie course.

6. Friendsgiving: brown cords and a cardigan worn as a top

Wide-leg corduroy pants in brown or rust, a fitted cardigan buttoned all the way up and worn as the top, a thin gold chain, sneakers or loafers. Friendsgiving is the most relaxed setting on this list, so texture does the festive work a dress would do at a family dinner. If the potluck has a theme or a dress code, our Friendsgiving outfit ideas cover that version in more depth.

7. The football-on-the-couch afternoon: a matching knit set

A matching sweater and wide-leg knit pants in oatmeal, grey or heather brown, with clean sneakers or lined slippers. It's the closest thing to sweats that still counts as an outfit, because one color from neck to ankle turns two soft pieces into a deliberate look. The waist is elastic and the fabric forgives a nap, which is the whole point of the second half of Thanksgiving.

8. Outside for the family touch-football game: a vest, stripes and boots

A quilted or puffer vest over a striped long-sleeve tee or a flannel, straight jeans, black lug-sole boots and a knit beanie. The vest keeps your core warm while leaving your arms free to throw, pass a thermos or hold a toddler, and lug soles grip on a cold, damp lawn. The same pair of boots covers the rest of winter too, as the black boots outfits guide shows.

9. The long, cold drive: ponte pants and a long cardigan

Pull-on ponte pants or dark leggings, a plain long-sleeve tee, a long chunky cardigan and a puffer you can peel off once the car heater kicks in, with slip-on sneakers. Ponte holds its shape through hours in a car seat, so you arrive without the crease across the lap that jeans pick up, and the cardigan doubles as a blanket for the passenger seat (more cardigan outfits here). If the dinner outfit is dressier, pack it on top of the bag and change when you arrive. The same outfit works for a flight.

Thanksgiving Outfits for Men: Three Looks That Cover Most Invitations

The waist rule applies here too. Jeans or chinos with a bit of stretch, and a belt you won't need to loosen.

10. Dinner at home: an open overshirt over a henley

A flannel or corduroy overshirt worn open over a plain henley or tee, dark jeans with stretch, suede chukkas or clean white leather sneakers. The open layer comes off once the kitchen heats up and you're still dressed underneath, which is why it beats one heavy sweater for a full day at someone's house.

11. The in-laws or a restaurant: a quarter-zip over an oxford shirt

A merino quarter-zip or fine crewneck in navy, forest or burgundy over a white or light-blue oxford shirt with the collar out, stretch chinos in khaki or olive, brown leather boots or loafers. It gets you to the dressier end of what to wear to Thanksgiving dinner without a blazer, and it looks right standing next to relatives in dresses in the group photo. For a restaurant with tablecloths, add a navy or brown sport coat over the same outfit.

12. Friendsgiving, football or carving duty: a chore jacket and a waffle henley

A waffle-knit henley in cream or rust, a canvas chore jacket or a quilted shirt jacket, relaxed jeans or cords, sneakers or work boots. Push the henley's sleeves up when you're handed the carving knife, and pull the jacket on for the walk out to the yard or over to a friend's apartment. It's the most casual of the three and the one you can move in best.

Pick the Waistband First, Then the Fall Color

Two decisions settle most of what to wear for Thanksgiving.

Start at the waist, because it's the one part of a Thanksgiving outfit that changes over the day. Elastic, a drawstring, a knit that stretches, a pull-on trouser or denim with some give will feel the same at 6 p.m. as at noon. Rigid jeans, a woven dress with a fitted waist seam and anything that needs a tight belt are the pieces people quietly regret by dessert.

The rule: sit down in the outfit for five minutes before you commit. If the waistband digs in on the edge of your bed, it'll dig in harder at the table.

Then the color. The fall palette is the easy one: rust, olive, camel, cream, burgundy, chocolate and deep green all sit well in warm lamplight and next to the food. Black is fine, especially with a warm color near your face, and winter white or cream jeans are fine for guests (hosts near the gravy might think twice). Pastels and bright summer shades are the only colors that look out of step. If the family lines up for a group photo, solid colors from that palette photograph better than big prints or logos, and family photo outfits explains how to coordinate without matching. For the rest of the season, there are more combinations in fall outfit ideas.

A few things to leave in the closet:

• Brand-new shoes. You'll stand, cook and chase kids for hours, so wear a pair that's already broken in.
• Dry-clean-only pieces if you're hosting. Gravy and cranberry sauce will find them.
• The one outfit you've never sat down in. Test it before Thursday, not at the table.

If you've narrowed it down to two outfits, Klodsy lets you plan both from the clothes you already own, or see them on your own photo before you decide. Most of these pieces carry straight into December, and the Christmas outfit ideas pick up where the sweater dress and the satin skirt leave off. Try Klodsy to put this year's Thanksgiving outfit together from your own closet.