Have you ever been faced with a dress code,
but had no idea where to start or what the dress code even requires? Here is a
list ranging from business casual to white tie. Our hope is to make sure that
as a SHE, you are always the best dressed in the room!
Business
Casual – this is your typical office
wear these days. The difficult part of this one is that it tends to vary office
to office. My suggestion is to wear the high end of the spectrum for a few days
and observe what everyone else is wearing.
Your typical business casual wear includes khaki pants, slacks, and
skirts; blouses, polo shirts, or shirts with collar. A necktie is not necessary
in this scenario. Consider this – if you
wouldn’t wear it to church, you shouldn’t wear it to the office!
Business
Attire – this is your more formal
office wear, like if you have an important meeting. This is also a great go-to
for a wedding that hasn’t been specified as a specific dress code.
Men - would wear a suit (jacket and pants).
Typically in a dark color, gray, dark blue, brown, or black. It can be with or
without a pattern. He’ll need to wear a
long-sleeved button down shirt, dress shoes and a necktie.
Women - would wear something similar. A suit
(jacket and matching skirt or slacks), plus a blouse. You would also wear
heels, no higher than three inches. In very formal office settings, you’ll also
need to wear panty hose. This is ideal for an office setting, but you obviously
aren’t going to want to wear a suit to a wedding. In that case wear a dress
that is equally formal to your date’s suit. And follow the rule I mentioned
above – if you wouldn’t wear it to church, don’t wear it to a wedding.
Black tie – the most common formal attire. While white
tie is the most formal, black tie is more commonly used.
Men – to a black tie affair, men will wear a
tuxedo. This includes a white dress shirt and black bowtie.
Women – women wear a ball gown or cocktail
dress and evening shoes. If the invitation says “Black tie optional” you can
wear a knee length dress. If not, you’ll need to wear a floor length dress
White tie – the
most formal of dress attire.
Men – will wear a black tailcoat worn over a white shirt, Marcella
waistcoat, a white bowtie worn around a detachable collar, high-waisted black
trousers and patent leather shoes. Optional accessories would be evening gloves
and a top hat.
Women – will wear full length evening dresses. Optional
accessories would be jewelry, tiaras, and evening gloves.
A quick color rule for you: always wear dark colors to a funeral and never wear white to a wedding (unless you're the bride of course!).
My hope is that this was helpful and you'll be prepared for your next event.
Have anything to add? I'd love to hear about it in the comments!
xo Courtney
