In this installment of Dress Code, we’re going to address the biggest sartorial challenge of the warm-weather months: wedding season! Cuz, among many other stresses, that mean dress codes. Festive, formal, semi-formal, black-tie-optional…we’ll sort it out together.
First of all, don’t panic. You know your friends. If you wear something slightly too glitzy or a bit too casual, are you going to get kicked out? No. I have been to daytime weddings where half the church was for some reason wearing satin ballgowns and the other half was in garden-party frocks and really, it did not effect anyone’s good time – certainly not the wedded couple’s.
That said: yes, this is one of the few remaining occasions where we are given a “dress code,” and so the pressure’s on to meet it. And let’s face it: weddings mean interacting with a lot of people. Sometimes it’s all your partner’s friends. Sometimes exes are there. Or someone’s parents. In general, there’s a lot of scope for stress. So let’s, at least, sort out our terminology. For practicality’s sake, we’ve organized specific types of weddings — beach, evening, etc. — according to what we feel would be their dress code if said dress codes weren’t explicitly stated on the invite. And if they were, this guide will be even easier for you to sift through. If you’re not sure what you’re dealing with in terms of the scene, keep in mind the time of the wedding, the venue, and, if you can, the personalities of the happy couple and the kind of crowd with whom you’ll be cavorting. There’s a plenty of nuance to go around!
As always, these are just suggestions; keep in mind that there are, as always, regional variations: the south, for instance, is a little more traditional. When in doubt, don’t wear black — but in, say, New York, black’s usually not going to be a problem. That said, wherever you are, I do think the no-white (unless you’re the bride) rule is always safe to follow. I tried to give a range of ideas, but just use these formality notions as loose guidelines and go to town: after all, rules are made to be broken and shoes to dance in.
White Tie:
The uber-formal rarity! You won’t, honestly, have to go to that many white-tie weddings. Unless you’re the sort of person who does, in which case you probably have a lot of gowns already.White-tie is Oscars. It’s balls. It’s can’t-be-overdressed. Wear a long gown, or a tux with white tie, or maybe even a tail-coat. Once I went to a white-tie event that had a “hunt” theme but I ignored that and it was really not a problem.